Belonging
by Jinx444
Summary: Chloe, Derek, Simon, Tori, and Casey are trying to find a way to shut down the Edison Group from the inside Please read my version of 'The Reckoning' before reading this if you haven't already. Diclaimor:I do not own Darkest Powers Please Read & Review!
1. Chapter 1

Derek draped a thick cloth around my shivering body.

"What's this?" I asked as I felt the rough but warm cloth between my fingers.

"I found it in one of the old fabric racks." He said simply. I pulled it tighter around me. My eyes felt tired, and it felt good to close them. I touched the arm that was still around me and made Derek hold me closer. Derek laid his cheek on my head. I had almost fallen asleep when Derek suddenly chuckled.

"What?" I asked, my voice raspy and barely audible.

"I just…I would've never guessed I'd end up like this." He said. I looked up at him questioningly.

"Like what?"

"Well…" his voice trailed off, and for a minute I didn't think he'd ever answer. He took a deep breath and half-smiled down at me "in love."

I was star struck. How could I have been so stupid! That's why Derek made me feel unlike anything else. That was the answer to everything. I felt a small grin grow on my face, and I closed my eyelids yet again, this time not opening them until a voice broke me from my slumber.

* * *

"Time to get going Chloe." Simon's soft voice whispered tenderly in my ear. I opened my eyes, hoping that Derek was still lying next to me. But, of course, he was long gone. I pushed the thick blanket off of me and looked over and saw that there was no light coming in through the window, but a blur of gray that only made the room slightly less dark.

"What time is it?" I asked, running my hand over my face to try and wake up more.

"I don't know, my watch broke back in the woods." He answered, holding out his hand to help me up. I took it gratefully and got to my feet. My back felt like a wooden board from sleeping on such a flat surface, but I shook it off as I started to remember all of the events from the night before. I looked at Simon's smiling face. There was no trace of sadness or grief, so I guessed that Derek hadn't told him about Kit yet. I prayed that I wasn't going to end up being the one to break the horrible news.

I brushed some of the dust that had been on the floor off of my backside and squinted into the atmosphere to see if I could catch a glimpse of Kit. I didn't see or hear anything but the gray haze that occupied the space.

"Looking for something?" Simon asked, giving me a puzzled look.

"I'm j-just still t-tired." I stuttered, and then cursed myself. I had been getting better at hiding my stutter, but it still needed work. "Where's Derek?" I asked, hoping to change the subject quickly.

"Beats me. He left me a note in my notebook to get everyone up as soon as I got up." Simon shrugged "Sure, he's a little bossy, but he always has a good reason." I nodded and tucked my hands under my arms; the sweatshirt was pretty thin, and I clenched my teeth to keep them from chattering. I noticed that Tori was over by the restrooms, trying to wrench the door open.

"Why the hell would they lock the fucking door?!?" She cursed, pulling on the handle.

"Just go outside." I called, walking towards her. Even my black converse clicked with every step I took.

"Hell no. I am not peeing behind a tree stump again." She insisted, backing up. She flung her wrist and the doorknob violently flew off, nearly hitting Casey in the head as he walked over. Tori gave a triumphant smile as she kicked the door open and ran inside the first stall.

"Don't mess with a girl who's been forced to pee next to a bush for three days." I said with a laugh.

"Wise words of advice." Casey smiled and nodded. He had an accent that was nearly non-existent, but I could hear the slight twang (he apparently had family in Texas that he used to visit a lot). It felt comfortable to joke around, and it made the dark building seem lighter. Simon strolled over, flipping through his notebook until he found the page that he was looking for.

"Check this out." Simon said, letting me hold his notebook. I gasped when I saw what was drawn on the left page.

"Simon…that's beautiful." I said as I ran my fingers down the picture. It depicted Simon and I, sitting on the porch of his grandmother's house, our fingers intertwined. He was looking over at me, his eyes gleaming brightly. I had a slight smile on my face, but was looking away, as if playfully ignoring him. The drawing seemed so lifelike. As I ran my fingers down the page, I half expected to feel Simon's spiky hair, or feel breeze that was sweeping my own hair to the side.

"Thanks." He said, letting me admire it as he stood, hands behind his back. I closed the notebook gently and handed it back to him.

"Simon…I have to tell you something." I said, knowing that I needed to tell him the truth about Derek and I. But, of course, Derek came through the door just as I was about to tell Simon what I longed to, catching everyone's attention. I looked at him grimly as he ambled over, a plastic Walmart bag in one hand and some cash in the other.

"It's getting colder." Derek stated, handing Simon the cash and pulling out a light blue shawl. "I know the old sweatshirt was ugly, but I thought maybe this would be a little better." He said, holding it out for me as I took it.

"Thanks." I said, admiring the fabric. It was actually pretty nice, especially compared to last time.

"I got these too." He said as he dug through the bag and pulled out a few plain, long-sleeved white shirts. Simon and Casey took the men's sizes, while I took the smaller other one. "Where's Tori?" Derek asked, still holding the remaining shirt in one hand.

"Her highness is on her royal thrown." Casey answered as one of the toilets flushed behind us. I rolled my eyes at his immature joke and walked into one of the stalls.

The shirt was surprisingly just the right size, and I loved how the baby blue shawl seemed to flow around me. I came out and looked in one of the mirrors, not liking what I saw. I heard everyone chatting outside, and I didn't think it would hurt to rinse out my grimy hair really fast. I turned the cold knob and waited for the water to heat up, scanning my frazzled reflection. There were traces of dirt all over my face, which I tried my best to erase with the luke-warm water. After about another minute of waiting, I decided it was warm enough.

I started wetting my hair in the large sink, smoothing it back as I did so. I knew it wasn't the best, and my hair would probably get all frizzy, but I didn't care. I needed something that even slightly resembled a shower. I looked into the mirror, hoping that the dye had washed out some. It didn't change much, but I would've sworn that the black had dulled just a little bit.

Just as I was turning the sink off, I saw a figure out of the corner f my eye, leaning casually against one of the stalls. I spun on my heels, though I already had a pretty good idea of who it was.

"Kit." I said, glancing out at everyone. They didn't even notice.

"I don't think we were properly introduced last night." Kit said with a warm smile. He reminded me of my own father, with his dark hair, the shape of his nose, and just the charming way he talked. "You are--?"

"Chloe Saunders." I said, gripping the sink counter behind me.

"You must be a necromancer, right?" he asked. I nodded in response, relaxing my shoulders slightly. Kit turned in the direction of Simon as he called out to me. They were ready to start on their way.

"One minute. I'll be right there." I called, not lifting my eyes off of Kit.

"Did you tell them?" he asked, facing me once again.

"I told Derek." I whispered, hoping that Kit could hear me, but no one outside of the restroom could. Kit gave another worried glance over at the door.

"Sounds like you guys need to get a move on. I'll meet up with you sometime tonight." He said as he started to evaporate "Please tell Simon today."


	2. Chapter 2

Kit's pleading words spun in circles in my head hours later when we were walking through some back paths that Derek had found behind Joann's. It took a little longer to get back on the road than we had expected, since Derek made us put all of the boards back with some nails that he'd bought. Tori, of course, fought him every step of the way, but I was thankful that there wouldn't be anyone coming in to investigate, just in case we left any trace that might lead the Edison Group to us. It was funny, really. We were running from the Edison Group on the way to their headquarters. Well, maybe not as ironic as plain scary to think about.

"So Tori," Casey said as he walked along side her "you got a boyfriend?" he asked with a charismatic smile. Even after all that she'd done to get him away, he was still flirting with her. Tori just gave him a cold glance before walking up farther ahead, right behind Simon. I could tell that she was being careful to stay behind him, rather than beside.

"You seem a little desperate." I said as I caught up with Casey.

"I could say the same thing about you." He said, putting his hands smugly in his pockets. My heart stopped.

"What?" I whispered, forcing myself to keep walking so not to attract everyone else's attention.

"I get that you'd like muscular guys, but Derek just doesn't seem like your type." He said simply.

"Shut up." I snarled at him, hoping that Simon didn't hear.

"Huh?" Casey asked, sounding confused by the sudden change in mood.

"I'll explain later." I said, exasperated that Casey had seen more than I'd wanted. I walked past Tori and next to Simon, leaving Casey far behind.

"Hey." Simon said as he looked over at me. "Did you sleep ok?" he asked, turning his head to me "You look a little tired."

"I'm fine." I said, trying to avoid any topic that would remind me at all of Kit. But, of course, Simon did just the opposite.

"I don't really know about this whole going to headquarters plan. I still want to find my dad, he'd know what to do." Simon said as a far-off glimmer took place in his blue eyes. I looked down at my feet, watching the white tips of my converse as they took long strides over the rough, littered terrain. I kept on coming up with ways to tell him about Kit, but every time I opened my mouth to tell him, the words caught in my throat, as if stuck there by super glue. Every once in a while Simon would talk about one of his old schools, or a new drawing he was working on, and I'd nod, but I wasn't really paying attention. I was so buried in the thoughts that the daylight went by fast, and when I looked up, I could just barely see the forms of Tori and Casey, who must've passed us earlier.

"Looks like Casey's actually gotten Tori to come around," Simon said, "I didn't even think that was possible." I listened carefully and could just barely hear Tori giggle as she smacked Casey's arm playfully.

"I don't think he knows what he's getting into," I said "Tori might turn all praying-mantis on him or something."

"Isn't that from some movie?"

"Ice Age." I answered, and Simon snorted a little. "What? It's a cute movie!" I said. He just nodded with a smile.

"Hey Lovebirds." Derek called from up ahead. Simon and I looked up, and I had to hold in a laugh when Casey and Tori looked up in unison also. "Any ideas on where to spend the night?" He asked as he stopped and turned to face all of us. I breathed in sharply when I felt a tap on my shoulder. I turned around to see Liz's bright face looking at me.

"There's some abandoned store like where you guys were last night up a few buildings." She said, pointing straight ahead at a backdoor. I would've never even guessed that it was closed down.

"Thanks, Liz." I said. She grinned the same way that she did the day I first met her back at Lyle House. Her perfectly straight teeth seemed to glisten as the sliver of moon in the sky beamed down on them.

"Who's Liz?" Casey asked. I turned to him to answer.

"She's a friend." I said, "She said there's another broken down building three houses ahead." I said and started walking past everyone. It felt kind of good to be the one leading the group for once (well, technically, Liz was in front of me leading the way, but no one else knew that).

Once we got to the building, I tried the doorknob. I know, kind of stupid since, of course, it was locked. Derek smirked and I caught amusement dance in his eyes as he stood back than ran into the door shoulder first. He put his arms out in front of him in a 'lady's first' position. I stuck my tongue out playfully at him and hoped that he couldn't see my cheeks turn pink as I stepped over the door and into the dark building.

I felt along the wall for a light-switch, thinking my attempt was in vain. I felt my pupils grow large as a row of lights at the back turned on. Derek rushed in, looking around nervously. However, the front display windows were covered with a thick, black cloth. People pacing by in their cars would have to look really hard to notice that the lights were on. Nevertheless, Derek told me not to turn on the other set of lights at the front.

"Nice, Fido. Now how are we going to keep animals from coming in here?" Tori asked as she looked down at the broken door.

"Someone's always going to be on look-out anyway, so it doesn't really make much of a difference whether the door's open or not." He answered. He picked the door up and leaned it on its hinges. "There. That should keep the skunks out." He said. Tori's smart-ass expression changed to one of sheer terror as she walked away, her boots clicking on the hardwood floor.

"Your friend picked the right place for us to stay!" Casey exclaimed as he spotted something over in a far corner and started walking swiftly towards it. We all followed to see what it was that caught his eye. "This must've been some kind of music store or something." He said as he admired a rack that held a few acoustic guitars.

"If this place is shut-down, why is some of the merchandise still here?" I asked suspiciously. The place sure looked empty, but you never know…

"They probably just closed down," Casey answered, waving a hand back at me dismissively "they haven't removed all of their inventory yet. I'm sure they won't mind if I take a look at this." He said as he reached up and grabbed one of the guitars.

"Anyone hungry?" Derek asked, distracting us as he pulled out a few of those lunchables things that I always brought to lunch when I was little. We all took one hungrily, and sat in one of the corners as we fidgeted with the cardboard boxes. Simon was just about to take his seat nest to me when Derek called him over.

"Simon, come here. I gotta tell you something important." He called, thumbs in his pockets as he stood on the other side of the room where Casey was still admiring the guitars.

"Promise not to start our gourmet dinner without me." He said, flopping his meal on the floor. I smiled up weakly at him, knowing that he wouldn't be beaming in a few minutes.


	3. Chapter 3

I watched helplessly as Simon walked over to his brother, arms waving at his sides. Once he got close enough, Derek rested his left arm on Simon's shoulders, his right thumb still jammed in the pocket of his dirty jeans. I watched as they turned to the wall opposite of us, Simon leaning his ear towards Derek. I watched Derek's lips move and Simon abruptly straightened as if he had just been slapped in the face. I winced and looked down at my laced fingers; I couldn't bear to watch anymore.

It felt like an eternity when Simon finally walked over and sat down beside me. I scanned his face, which was usually full of color and vibrance, but was now pale.

"Are you ok?" I asked, knowing the answer, but feeling the need to ask anyway out of courtesy.

"No. Not really." He shook his head and looked down at his now unwrapped lunchable tray. "Don't worry, I just need some time." He picked up one of the little crackers and nibbled it half-heartedly before throwing it on the ground to his left. "You can have mine. I'm not really hungry." He said as he scooted the food my way. I took it and put it on my other side, knowing that I wouldn't get around to eating it.

"I know it seems horrible, and that the world had let you down, but it'll get better as time goes on." I said, trying to give him words of comfort. His face showed no emotion, and I wasn't sure if I was helping or making it all worse. I took his motionless hand and squeezed. "He told me that he loves you." It was silent, and even Tori looked over to watch Simon's blank expression.

"I gotta go to the bathroom." Simon said abruptly and stood up, straightening his shirt slightly as he did so. I watched and listened to his footsteps until he opened a small door with the little man stick person on it. He disappeared behind the closed door.

"What happened?" Casey finally got the nerve to say as Derek walked over, staring down at the ground.

"Their dad passed away." I answered. After the words left my mouth, I wondered why people said 'passed away' rather than died. I mean, I got the whole less blunt thing, but in the end, it hurts just as bad. I turned to Derek as he sat opposite of me, his eyes staring down into the plastic grocery bag. "Are you going to be ok?" I asked. He had had a little bit of time to think about the whole thing, but it seemed like he had gotten out of the stage of shock, and went straight to grief.

"I'll be fine." He said as he placed the grocery bag beside him. "What exactly did my dad tell you?"

"He said that the headquarters was at the building that they kept us, just on the other side in a secret room," I answered "he said he'd talk to me again sometime tonight." Derek nodded. We were all quiet except for the sounds of Tori and Casey munching on their little slices of ham and crackers. I couldn't bring myself to touch my own food, and I put t to the side with Simon's tray. Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, Casey stood up and brushed himself off.

"I think I might try to tune one of those guitars over there." He said, pointing his thumb back towards all of the guitars.

"We're running for our lives and all you can think about right now is a guitar?" Tori asked as she also stood up. Casey shrugged.

"I've always loved guitars. My mom taught me how to play when I was eight." Sadness glazed over his brown eyes briefly before he blinked it away "It's always made me feel better in bad times." With that, he walked over and picked the same acoustic that he had before. Tori followed him, leaving behind her completely empty plastic tray.

"I'm going to go check on Simon." I said. Derek nodded grimly, as if he didn't have the strength anymore to go cheer his brother up himself. I felt as if I was in a dream as I walked to the restroom. It felt like I was floating, rather than walking. It all seemed so unreal up until the point I knocked on the door and Simon answered me.

"What?" he asked in a shaky voice.

"It's Chloe." I said, leaning my back against the door and crossing my arms. "I don't want to come in, I just want to talk to you." I said through the door. All was quiet on the other side. "Listen, I've gone through loss before, too." I said, remembering the days that I had locked myself in my room and cried over my mom. I wished so much that I could give Simon that period of mourning, that I could let him cry over his dad as much as he needed to, but we were in a serious situation. Simon needed to pull it together; not just for himself, but also for all of us. Once we were out of this horrible mess, he could mourn as much as he needed, but now was too important.

"I understand that you're sad, and it's all a huge shock, but you have to understand that…" My voice trailed off as I tried to think of the right words to use "that you need to be here—for me. For all of us. We're depending on you." I said, hoping that the words were sinking in.

"I know." Simon answered. I backed away from the door, and a moment later Simon came out. I tried to see marks of tears on his face, but could find none. I knew there were other forms of sadness, and how people went through it was different, but I couldn't help but wonder what way Simon was coping. "Where'd everyone go?" Simon asked with a cough as he looked around the now empty room. I looked where Derek had been only minutes before, but there was nothing there but our food trays. I looked over to my right where there was a hallway and a few doors.

"They must've held guitar lessons in one of these back rooms." I said as I bundled myself in my shawl and walked through the narrow hallway next to Simon. Suddenly, we stopped to listen to the guitar that we heard playing from one of the rooms at the back. I walked over quietly and stuck my head in the doorway to see Derek. He was sitting in a chair next to Casey, his head bobbing slightly as he switched cords on an acoustic guitar.

"She acts like summer and walks like rain, reminds me that there's time to change." He sang. I couldn't believe it—Derek singing? He was actually pretty good. I mean, he wasn't great, but his husky voice singing 'Drops of Jupiter' was almost soothing.

"Since her return from the stay on the moon, she listens like spring and she talks like June." Derek sang, and Casey did that little heyeyey thing that comes after. I looked over at Simon, as if he'd magically know the answer to every question that was in my head.

"Derek plays guitar. I know, you wouldn't have guessed it, but he always used to play before we got to Lyle House." Simon smiled slightly as he walked in and took one of the chairs that were leaning against the wall. He unfolded it and waved for me to sit in it. I nodded and sat, watching and listening to Derek, who hadn't even looked up. When he finally finished the song, he looked up at all of us who were sitting around him and staring. Derek quickly handed the guitar back to Casey as his cheeks started taking on a reddish hue.

"You're really good." I said, looking at him with admiration. I'd always wanted to learn how to play guitar, or any instrument for that matter. Derek just shrugged in response and sat back, listening to Casey as he started playing a song that I didn't know. It seemed so weird that, even though there was so much tension, everyone seemed at peace all of the sudden. Even Simon seemed to be at ease as he let the guitar take him away in its melodies. I smiled to myself as that feeling that I'd had the other night came back. That feeling of being where I belonged.


	4. Chapter 4

The sounds of the guitar strummed in my head into the late hours of the night as I stared sleeplessly at the white plaster ceiling above us. We decided to all sleep in that room while taking turns keeping watch. Of course, Derek had volunteered to be first. Casey was second, and I was supposed to go after him. I tried to get some rest while I still could, but the sand man wasn't in the mood to bless me with his soft presence tonight. Movement on the other side of the room suddenly distracted me.

"Derek?" I whispered as his green eyes flashed at me. "What is it?"

"Nothing." He answered. By nothing, I knew he was about to go through one of his partial changes. He stood and I watched his silhouetted form walk across the room. I knew that he'd shoo me away if I got up, so I decided to stay in my place and try to follow without him know. I was surprised when he stopped at the door and looked back at me. "You coming?"

"What?" I asked.

"I know you're stubborn and probably planning on following me anyway. I know I'm not gonna get you to change your mind so as long as you promise to run if it gets to bad, you can come." he beckoned for me to come, and I quickly stood up and ambled over. Sometimes being stubborn has its advantages.

We walked together in the darkness, and he took my hand. "I can see better in the dark. I'll lead the way." He said in explanation. I wouldn't have asked him about it if he didn't have a reason. I cursed when I squinted and saw Casey's form. I'd told him that I'd talk to him about the whole me and Derek thing, but I'd completely forgotten. "What?" Derek asked as he heard my curses under my breath.

"Casey knows about us." I whispered back. Derek straightened but kept on walking until we got to the door.

"Hey, what are the lovely couple doing out here this late?" Casey asked with his slight accent.

"Keep it down." I commanded, looking behind us nervously. I knew that there was no way he could've woken up Simon or Tori, but I still didn't want him saying stuff like that out loud.

"You know." Derek said, and Casey nodded.

"Why am I not supposed to?" He asked, leaning in the doorframe. He had taken the broken door off, letting the moonlight shine a little in the room.

"Simon." I admitted. Casey nodded in understanding.

"I get it. His girl has a thing for his brother. Ouch." Casey said. Derek and I exchanged looks, not knowing what else to say. "I'll keep quiet." Casey said, looking longingly up at the moon. "You still didn't answer my question; what are you guys doing up?"

"Nothing you need to worry about." Derek said quickly, pulling me through the door and trying to get passed the threshold fast.

"Changing, huh? Call if you guys need anything." Casey called after us. Apparently, Derek hadn't gotten us out of there in time to keep Casey from reading his mind. We hadn't even gotten a full ten feet away when Derek uttered a strangled cry and fell to the ground, nearly pulling me down before he let go of my hand. Casey came running to us as Derek writhed on the ground. "Is he supposed to be doing that?!?" Casey asked. I could see panic glow in his eyes.

"Yeah…well, we're not sure. It's a long story." I answered as I got down on my knees next to Derek. A gurgle escaped from his throat and he emptied the contents of his stomach in the dirt path in front of us. I'd seen it too many times to be grossed out, but out of the corner of my eye, I saw Casey cover his mouth with his shirt and move back a few steps. "It's gonna be ok." I cooed, cautiously reaching out my hand and rubbing his back.

"Chloe…" Derek managed to squeak through his clenched teeth "I love you." With that, his back arched up high in the air, and I quickly removed my hand. The top of his head touched the earth where his sharp nails were digging.

"Can we do anything?" Casey asked frantically as he came a little closer. I shook my head in dismay "All we can do is be here." Casey's mossy-brown eyes were locked on Derek as his tanned skin squirmed over his muscles, his eyes glittering with agony. I tried to put my hand on his back once more, but Derek's head snapped around, his distorted mouth showing a row of long, gleaming teeth. I fell back in surprise, and started crawling away. Though Derek's face was mutating, his eyes were the same. Looking at me with fear and pleading for me to get away while I still could. And though I felt fear rush through my body like a lightening bolt, I couldn't bring myself to run.

"D-d-do I n-need to get S-Simon or Tori?" Casey asked, looking anxiously from the building to Derek, and then back at the building. I would've been jumping for joy that I wasn't the only one that stuttered under pressure if Derek hadn't been in the middle of changing.

"No. It should be over soon." I said. My words came out strong, but I of course wasn't near as certain. I stayed a good five feet away from Derek as he wiggled helplessly on the ground. The parts of his body was at war with each other; some of his genes needed to morph, but his other genes or whatever the Edison Group did to him wouldn't let him. His nose and mouth kept on elongating into a snout, and then pressed back into his face. His nails grew out, and then in. My skin especially crawled when his back legs twisted into that of a dog, the bones cracking and groaning. They painfully turned back to normal at least four times before he finally vomited once more and collapsed on the ground, his arms at his sides and chin laying on the cold ground as he panted.

I walked closer, sweeping my hand down the back of his sweat-soaked shirt and kissing him lightly on the head reassuringly. I looked him over the best I could and realized that his pants had ripped from the knees all of the way down to his ankles.

"Did you buy a second pair of jeans yesterday?" I asked as I rested my hand over his still-furry one. Derek forced himself onto one shoulder and shook his head. "We'll get you some in the morning." I said and tried to help him up. Seeing that I was struggling to get Derek to his feet, Casey came and put Derek's right arm around his shoulder, holding him up. Derek was much weaker than he had ever been, and he couldn't even keep his head up.

"I really thought I was going to go the whole way that time…" Derek breathed, letting his head bob with every feeble step that he took. Neither of us answered, but just kept walking until we found a place in the main part of the building to lay him down.

"We need to get him out of these wet clothes." I said when I saw Derek shiver slightly. Casey looked at me strangely for a moment before helping me pull Derek's t-shirt over his head, which wasn't easy since he was extremely limp from his tiring ordeal.

"I'll help you take off his shirt, but I refuse to unbutton another guy's pants." Casey said as he balanced himself on his knees.

"We don't have to undo his pants; just help me rip them the rest of the way." I said, rolling my eyes at his immaturity. Casey and I ripped the jeans shattered part of the jeans off, leaving Derek with pants that only reached to his knees.

"He can take this." Casey said as he removed his green over-shirt, revealing his toned arms. He draped it carefully over Derek, who then shivered slightly and pulled it closer to his neck.

"You don't have to--"

"Nah, he needs it more than I do." Casey cut me off with a wave of his hand. "Anything else I can do?" Casey asked with a sleepy yawn. I shook my head.

"It's past my turn to keep watch, you can go back to the room to sleep." I said as I tried in vain to sweep some of Derek's wet hair behind his ear. Casey silently got up and started walking away. "Thanks, by the way." I called after him. My only response was the sound of his footsteps drifting farther and farther away. I saw that Derek was still shaking, and I laid down next to him. I knew that I couldn't give him much body heat because of our difference in size, but he wrapped his arms around me nonetheless. I nestled my nose against his and was lulled to sleep by the sound of his warm breath wafting over my face.


	5. Chapter 5

"Whoa…" Tori's astonished voice made me open my eyes to find myself staring at Derek's closed eyelids. I saw his eyelashes twitch before he opened his own dark green eyes. We both took a moment to remember where we were before sitting straight up, throwing Casey's shirt off of us as we looked guiltily at Tori and Simon's shocked faces. Derek reached for his shirt, and I stood up and straightened my shawl.

"It's n-n-not what it l-looks like." I stumbled across the words as I felt my cheeks turn pink. I would've never thought I'd have to say that phrase. I could only imagine what images were going through their heads. It felt like the whole misunderstanding with Derek and I messing around in the crawl space was happening all over again.

"You were…cuddling?" Simon asked, his face looking crest-fallen. I'd avoided telling him all of these days, but there was no getting out of it now. He'd seen Derek's arms around me, and there was no way to twist that into being some accident.

"In a way, I guess so." I said, looking down at the floor. Tori curled up her upper lip in disgust as Derek stood beside me, thankfully with his shirt on this time. I glanced up at Simon's stunned face. I noticed that he was no longer looking at me, but at Derek. His hands were balled into tight fists at his sides, his knuckles turning white. He looked like he was about to punch Derek in the face.

"I told you I…that I…" Simon took a deep breath and closed his eyes "I told you that I liked her, and you stab in the back like this?"

"I wasn't doing it out of spite, I just--" Simon shook his hand in the air and turned away, cutting Derek off.

"Simon…" I called after him, but he was already halfway across the room.

"I'll talk to him later." Derek said a he rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly. I would've gladly welcomed a change in subject, but all three of us lapsed into silence.

"So…Derek and Chloe…you guys make a cute couple. Sucks for Simon though." Tori said. I gave her a bizarre stare. I'd expected her to completely gross-out, but she seemed sincere. I was about to say something in response when a rained-soaked Casey walked through the back door with a grocery bag.

"Hey…" His voice trailed off when he saw our gloomy faces. He didn't have to be a mind reader to tell what had happened. "Well, this explains why Simon's so pissed outside." He said. None of us said anything, and he coughed uncomfortably as he swept his wet hair out of his face. It was the first time I'd seen him without a ponytail. "I got you some jeans. I noticed you liked the baggy stuff, so I just got a large. We can take it back if we need to." Casey said as he pulled out and handed Derek a brand new pair of light-blue jeans.

"Thanks." Derek mumbled under his breath as he took it and started walking towards the restroom. "Be ready to leave, cause I'm going right after I put these on." He shouted back at us. He sounded extremely bossy, but Tori didn't even smirk.

"I think I'll go outside and try to cheer Simon up," Casey said "you guys wanna come?" Tori shrugged and started following him. I stayed in my place as my eyes locked on Kit who had been standing behind Tori before she moved.

"You coming?" Tori asked. I shook my head.

"I'll meet you guys out there." I answered. Tori and Casey shrugged together before they started walking again. I waited until their forms disappeared outside the door before looking straight at Kit.

"Wow… drama between you and my boys, huh?" he said. I didn't meet Kit's eyes and didn't answer. "You're right; there's much more important things to talk about right now than a sixteen-year-old's love triangle." I nodded and looked up at his dark hair that looked slick and gelled back, as if he was ready to go to a business meeting or something.

"I think we're getting closer; do you know how much farther we have?" I asked. Kit nodded.

"You guys should be there by eight tonight if you keep your pace." He answered. I felt my mouth drop. I thought we had at least two days to figure out our plan. "I'm guessing you don't really know what to do." I shook my head.

"Derek is usually the one who does the planning." I admitted, though that was no excuse for me not having a plan in place.

"Derek always was the sharpest knife in the drawer..." Kit said, showing his dimples as he chuckled a little. Sorrow passed through his blue eyes (which were exactly like Simon's) before he looked up at Derek's approaching form behind me.

"Are you talking to....?" Derek asked, wiping the water that he had used to wash his face off with what was left of his tattered jeans. I nodded and then looked at Kit, who seemed to be staring right through his son.

"Derek…you look so grown up." Kit said, reaching out his hand as if expecting Derek to take it. "I've only caught glimpses of you the past few days…but now I can see that you're almost a man now…" after a moment of silence filled only by the sound of the rain tapping on the roof, Kit put down his hand. Derek hadn't heard a word or even seen his gesture.

"Hi, dad." Derek said as his eyes pierced the air, as if staring harder could make his father appear before his eyes. Kit gave the same lop-sided smile that Derek had often used. Though they weren't technically related, I realized that Derek must have picked up the mannerism from him. Kit waved his hand briefly in the air, even though I was pretty sure he knew that Derek couldn't see or hear him.

"He says hi back…and that you really look grown up. He also wants to know if you have a plan." I interpreted. I felt myself scowl as I contemplated being in Kit's position. He could see and hear his son as clear as day, and yet Derek couldn't even shake his hand. It seemed so sad, not to be able to interact with someone you love, no matter how hard you try. Derek gave his lop-sided grin and glanced down at the floor.

"I won't keep you guys here any longer. If you guys want to make it to the headquarters tonight, you need to get going," Kit said "tell Derek to be ready to go over his plan with me tonight." He started to fade.

"Meet you there." I called as he disappeared. I glanced over at Derek, who was no longer grinning, but frowning at the ground. "Are you going to be ok?"

"Yeah, I'm fine." Derek said with a shake of his head. "Dad's right; we need to get going. I just hope Simon doesn't make it too much harder." And with that, we walked side-by-side out of the building.


	6. Chapter 6

I hadn't realized just how hard that the rain was pouring until we started walking in it. I silently thanked whoever had created shawls with a hood as I pulled it up over my horrible dye job. I couldn't wait to get somewhere with a shower. My thoughts of hygiene soon faded as I noticed Simon was avoiding me.

He was following behind Tori and Casey, who were chatting behind me. Derek was in front and I saw him glance back every once in a while at Simon as he stared at the ground. I knew we shouldn't be troubled by something that was so small compared to all of the hell that we were involved in, but I really liked Simon as a friend and it was hard to push him from my mind.

"How old is your sister?" I overheard Tori ask behind me. Seeing an opportunity to get my mind off of Simon, I decided to slow down and join them in their conversation.

"Alaina just turned fourteen a few months ago." Casey answered as I walked beside him. He pulled out a wallet from his back pocket and opened it up, revealing a picture of Casey with his arm around a smiling girl with glasses, freckles, and red hair. I looked up at Casey and saw the resemblance. They had the same small chin, the same nose, and overall the same bone structure.

"Does she have…" I paused to think of the right word "intuition like you?" I asked. He shrugged.

"She's had a few weird dreams, but so far nothing like what I've had." He said as he closed his wallet and put it back in his pocket. "Then again, I didn't start getting strong readings until I was about fifteen."

"Most guys I knew hate their little sisters." Tori said with a smirk and a roll of her eyes.

"I've always been close to Alaina. I hated leaving her at the home, but she insisted that she needed to stay and try to get more information…I just hope she's ok." Casey said, stuffing his hands in his front pockets. "You guys got any siblings?" The conversation went on and on as the hours slowly drug by. My legs had started hurting from walking all day but I ignored it; it wasn't like everyone else wasn't feeling the same way. I slowed down a couple of times to try to talk to Simon, but every time I did he'd speed up and go ahead of Tori and Casey, leaving me far behind. Finally, the frustration of Simon avoiding me ended when Derek held his hand up for us to stop and peeked through a bush.

"We're here. Chloe, can you summon dad?" Derek asked as he looked back at me seriously.

"I'll try." I said, walking over to and leaning against a nearby tree. I closed my eyes and breathed slowly, picturing me pulling Kits hand through an invisible barrier. _We need both of you now, Kit and Liz_. I thought right before I got a tap on my shoulder.

"You're getting good at that." Kit's deep voice said, and I turned to my right, where he was looking at me with Liz standing next to him, looking up at his face as if he had bugs crawling all over it. It seemed like Kit was the first ghost other ghost she'd seen, though it seemed strange that she hadn't ran into one before now. "It usually takes necromancers months or even years to master summoning, and you've only been one for a few weeks."

"Thanks." I said simply. I wasn't in the mood for a long conversation about my powers. It reminded me too much of what that demon had said about me raising corpses in the cemetery only a mile from where we were standing… "So, what's the plan?" I asked Derek, who was staring at the air where Kit was.

"Ok, I was planning on watching who went in and came out of the building all day tomorrow, until nightfall. And then--"

"I am not going to sit in the rain for a day watching a fucking building!" Tori cut off Derek as she pulled at her blue hood.

"We need to know what we're up against." Derek growled. He'd put up with Tori pretty well for the last few days, but he didn't look like he was in any mood to take her crap any longer. "Plus, it might reveal some secret way to get in or something."

"It's a waste of our time! I say we get the information we need from Kit and kick some mad scientist ass." Tori crossed her arms. Derek looked as if he'd just eaten a sour lemon.

"You act like it'll be that easy. We go in there without a good plan, and we'll be caught and dead within minutes." Derek said, pointing at the building dramatically.

"And who said you got to make all of the choices and order every one around? You've got such a huge fucking head! You obviously have a soft spot for the little princess over there." She nodded her head in my direction "One broken nail and you're instantly sucking up to her. I don't think you're near as tough as you want us to think." Her voice got a little lower and she leaned back smugly. "I bet I could kick your ass. Easy."

"Don't let you're mouth make bets your ass can't win." Derek snarled, a fierce fire glowing in his eyes. He had been doing a fairly good job at keeping his temper, but that was the last straw. Casey stood in front of the two, blocking any attempt to claw each other's eyes out.

"Whoa, whoa! Will you guys shut up? God, we're supposed to be fighting them not each other." He said, gesturing towards the building. "If we're going to do this, we need to get all of the problems out of the way." I saw Casey catch a glimpse at Simon, who was leaning against a tree nearby with his arms crossed, watching the ridiculous argument. "But first we'll start with you two. Derek, finish talking about your plan, and Tori shut your mouth for a few minutes." There was a moment of silence as Casey backed away, and I was scared that they'd start fighting again. However, the anger had gone out of Derek's eyes, and Tori seemed to clench her teeth.

"Ok. We wait and watch, and then, taking anything we learn from our observations into account, we sneak in. Hopefully, dad and Liz will be able to lead us to the back of the building, where the headquarters is. If anyone gets in our way, we do what we need to." Derek looked back over at me "can dad tell us a direct route?" Our planning and debating with each other seemed to last hours, though it was probably only about twenty minutes. Finally, we had come up with something that we thought would work.

"Ok, now Tori, do you have any objections to the plan, and if so, do you have an alternative?" Casey asked. If I'd had closed my eyes while Casey had said that, I would've thought that Dr. Phil was standing there with us. Tori tapped her foot a couple of times before shaking her head; I guessed she wasn't so happy that Derek's plan seemed better than what she'd have thought, but she couldn't deny that it was better than just running in there and winging it.

"Ok, problem one solved; now Simon, come over here." Casey said. It was actually kind of funny how he seemed to be acting like that adult in the situation. Simon looked at him, but didn't move.

"C'mon, Simon." I heard Kit say under his breath, and, as if Simon had heard, he took a few steps closer.

"I'm so sorry Simon." I blurted out. I'd been waiting all day to say that. "I really, really like you…just not that way."

"I'm not mad at you, Chloe…I just can't believe my own brother…" Simon said, glaring at Derek. Derek stared right back.

"I wasn't planning on it turning out like this…I just couldn't hold it in anymore…I'm sorry." Derek apologized. I tilted my head slightly; anymore? How long had he had feelings for me?

"Whatever." Simon said.

"C'mon Simon. Don't be like that." Liz said. Apparently, she's been listening closely to the conversation also.

"I shouldn't have been so focused on you anyway, Chloe." Simon said, now turning towards me. "There were so many things happening…I guess I was just using you as a distraction."

"So…are we still friends?" I asked. I knew we sounded like a Lifetime movie, but I didn't care.

"Yeah." Simon said after a moment.  
"Still brothers?" Derek asked, looking seriously at Simon.

"You know you'll always be my brother," Simon answered, "no matter what happens." Simon grinned a little, but I could see it was half-hearted. I knew that the scars would always be there, and that this wasn't going to be the last we heard about this whole mess, but, at least he was trying to forgive and forget, and that was all that mattered after the tiring day.

"Ok, now that that's all settled…anybody want McDonalds?" Casey asked. I smiled as we all nodded our heads.


	7. Chapter 7

"That's your mom, right?" Casey asked Tori as we caught a far-off glimpse of Mrs. Enright.

"Yeah…you read her from that far away?" she asked.

"Well, I read that you didn't like your mom, and I just saw you tense up when she walked out."

"Oh." Tori said. I couldn't tell whether her tone was disappointed or embarrassed, but I was too focused on the door to the building and who was coming out of it.

"It's aunt Lauren!" I practically yelled. I could only imagine that goofy but happy look on my face; I didn't really care that aunt Lauren had been a traitor, all that mattered to me was that she'd tried to help us, and that she was still alive. I noticed that there was a bandage around her head, and I shuddered thinking about the way that Tori's mom had attacked all of us. That made me think; why didn't they kill her? She knew all of their information, and she helped Tori and I escape. How could they just let her go?

"I don't see any—ow!" Casey screeched as Tori elbowed him in the shoulder. Then he looked over at my crestfallen face and understood. "Uh…are you gonna be ok?" He asked. I wasn't sure how to answer. They hadn't seen her, and she had just disappeared out of my view. The only other possibility was…

"Where did Mrs. Enright go?" Simon asked nervously. I could still tell that not all was well with him, but at least he wasn't avoiding me anymore.

"She went around the back." Tori answered. "Probably to get to the main headquarters or whatever."

"I'll go around and try to catch a glimpse of where she entered." Derek said, standing up from his squatting position.

"What if they see you?" I asked as I tried not to let the alarm seep into my voice. I'd already gotten so close to losing Derek, and I'd just figured out he loved me. There was no way I wanted him put in any kind of danger.

"Run." Derek said simply; as if the answer had been written write there in the dirt that we were squatting in.

"Stop." I heard Kit's voice say suddenly. I hadn't seen him since last night. I grabbed Derek's arm to keep him from walking on, and he looked down at me strangely for a moment until he realized that I must have been talking to his dad or Liz.

"I already saw the entry that Mrs. Enright used. She wasn't going there just now, because you have to go into the building first. There's a secret passageway in Dr. Davidoff's office." I remembered going into that one room, but I hadn't seen another door…it must be pretty well hidden. I told Derek this, and he settled down, though I could tell it made him uneasy not knowing Mrs. Enright's exact position. Hours went by without any new movement, and Simon could hold it in no longer.

"What did they do to you, dad?" Simon asked. I looked up at Kit, who had a sad expression on his face.

"I was trying to get away from them. They caught me one day when Simon and Derek were at school. They tried to torture me into telling them where other supernaturals I knew were, but I never answered them. Of course, after the kidnapping, they knew I wouldn't work for them anymore, and I guess I had too much information. Andrew had warned me about it long before, but I refused to listen until it was too late." Kit answered sorrowfully.

"But Andrew betrayed us. He was working for the Edison Group, not against it." I said, puzzled. Kit shrugged.

"I honestly don't know. They must've turned him to their side when they took me away." Kit said. That was the only possible answer. I told every one this new information, and was only greeted by confused and grief-stricken looks. Every one stayed quiet for a little while as the digested this information and tried to come up with a good conclusion. As the daylight steadily got darker, more questions came up.

"Ok, Chloe; you said you were actually in that secret passageway in Dr. Davidoff's office, so it would be best if you led. But, we should have a backup if anything were to happen. What did the passageway look like?" Derek asked.

"It was hidden by the classic bookshelf." I said. I didn't like thinking that we would need a backup plan, but it was the truth.

"Ok; we need a distraction." Derek said as he turned to Simon, Tori, and Casey. "Any ideas?" We went over and over our seemingly foolproof plan until it was pitch-black.

"I think we're ready." Tori said, though none of us were completely sure. We had to start sometime, and that time was now.

* * *

Simon and Tori went first, to create the distraction. Kit went with them, to make sure that everything went as planned. It was frightening, waiting there behind the bushes in the dark. Uncertain of how our friends were—yes, I called Tori my friend. She could be a pain, but she was getting better, at least to me. I snapped my head around when I felt Derek's hand engulf mine.

"You ok?" he asked, looking down at me, a look of concern on his face. I just nodded and leaned my head on his shoulder.

"You guys really do make a good couple." Casey said. I'd completely forgotten he was there. Neither of us answered. There was complete silence for the next twenty minutes, until I saw Kit near the building, waving us on.

"It's our turn." I said, letting go of Derek's warm hand and walking through the bushes. Derek caught up and then walked in front of me, as if that would keep the Edison Group from going near me. It felt strange to be going through the doors and into the building rather than out. I just prayed that we'd come out again.

The shocking white of the walls and floor and the smell of sanitizer reminded me of a hospital. I noticed that there was fog at our feet, and knew that Tori and Simon must be nearby. I rushed along the wall, following Derek. We got to the end of one wall and looked around the corner to see Tori and Simon, who were almost completely engulfed in the gray substance. Suddenly, I felt Kit's presence beside me.

"They have some of the workers over there, but I know that Mrs. Enright and Dr. Davidoff are still somewhere in the building." He said. I nodded in understanding. "Just be careful." And with that, he walked over to Tori and Simon, as if to help them.

"We need to keep an eye out for Tori's mom and Dr. Davidoff." I whispered, and then ran to the opposite wall. The only thing that was keeping me in the right direction was the memory of a few of the paintings on the wall, and a few familiar scuffs on the floor. I shivered as I realized that the scuffs looked like they could've came from the sneakers of people being dragged to their fate. Though I felt a little bit freaked out, I kept walking, trying to keep the bottom of my shoes from squeaking against the tile floor. Finally, we came to a door that said 'Dr. Davidoff'. I was about to reach for the doorknob when Derek caught my wrist.

"I might be able to tell if someone's in there." Derek said, leaning his ear against the hardwood door. How could I keep forgetting Derek's great hearing? Derek tensed up and motioned for us to get a little farther away from the door. "He's on the phone." He whispered as he also backed away. "We need to get in there, whether he's there or not." I heard Casey crack his knuckles, as if that would make him any more prepared for the fight. I took a deep breath and nodded.

"I love you." It felt so good to say those three words, and I prayed that I would be able to utter them again.

"I love you to." Derek replied, bracing himself to knock down the door. I wasn't sure exactly what we were going to do to Dr. Davidoff and how, but it was now or never.


	8. Chapter 8

The door had been locked, so we had no other choice. Derek ran into the door three times before it finally came crashing down, revealing nothing but an empty room.

"He was in there," he panted as he walked in and looked around "I heard him." My eyes hunted the room for any sign of Dr. Davidoff, but found no trace. Derek walked cautiously into the room, stopping every once in a while to look under the desk or a few of the floral-printed chairs. It was so extremely quiet. Something definitely wasn't right.

Suddenly, Derek's eyes widened and he ducked as a bullet shot through the air. This wasn't one of the tranquilizing darts it was an actual bullet! Derek had just barely gotten out of its way, but Casey wasn't as lucky. I couldn't keep myself from screaming as the bullet whizzed through his right shoulder.

Casey grunted and bent over in pain as he gripped his wounded shoulder, blood seeping through his fingers. His face was twisted in agony as Derek and I rushed to his side. Another loud pop filled the room, and I felt the second bullet whiz by only inches away from my face. Derek managed to drag him behind a desk, tucking him into the spot where your legs go.

"Make sure that Casey keeps pressure on that." Derek commanded, squatting down to where he was shielded. I heard heavy footsteps walk agonizingly slowly to where we were.

"Oh, it must have taken you three a long time to come up with a hiding place like this." I heard not Dr. Davidoff's voice, but a woman's voice. I didn't even have time to comprehend who it was before Derek jumped up, grabbing the barrel of the rifle that Mrs. Enright was holding. I flinched as another shot was fired, but thankfully, it hit the ceiling rather than Derek's face. It took me a moment to realize that his hand was waving at us, trying to tell us to get out of there. As much as I hated to run, I had to. Casey was hurt, and I wasn't planning on letting him die just because I wanted to seem brave and courageous. I started dragging Casey out from under the desk as I watched Derek grip the gun, walking forward slowly and backing Mrs. Enright into a wall. The look of horror on her face made her features look so helpless, so fragile, though I knew it was only an act. "Derek Souza I demand that you put down the gun right now, before you hurt anyone else." I knew that the words 'anyone else' stung Derek, but he wasn't going to let Mrs. Enright talk him into doing something stupid like letting go of the gun. As she kept on talking to him, I got Casey to his feet.

"How bad is it?" I whispered to Casey. His eyes were no longer squeezed shut, but his toned arm was streaked in stunningly red blood.

"It hurts, but I'll make it." He answered, still gripping his shoulder. "Where's the passageway?"

I found the passageway and hurriedly removed the object blocking the way. I looked back one time to see Derek rip the weapon out of Mrs. Enright's grasp, only to immediately be hit with a knock-back spell. I winced as he flew at least twelve feet in the air and smacked into the opposite wall. I wanted so badly to rush over to him and kiss him and help him to his feet, but Casey ushered me through the doorway. I knew that Mrs. Enright would be hot on our trail, and that we had to hurry. I scanned the floor, looking for the trap door that Kit had told us about the night before.

"Over here." Casey called, waving his un-injured arm. I ran over as he opened the compartment, gesturing for me to go in. He came down after me, grunting painfully (he had to use his right arm to grip parts of the ladder). When we finally got to the bottom, I saw that the only thing illuminating the dark room were several screens, just like the ones that Dr. Davidoff had used to keep an eye on Rae with, except these showed even more of the rooms that I didn't even think could fit here. I turned my head away from the screens and to a file drawer that Casey was staring at.

"What's wrong?" I asked.

"Its not in here. This was just put here as a distraction." was his only response. I started looking across all of the white plaster walls, searching for the source of the safe or whatever it was that held the information we needed.

"Do you think it would be on this computer?" I asked, staring at the screen of a small laptop on top of a desk in the middle of all of the screens. What was that password that I had typed into Dr. Davidoff's computer when I was here?

"Look!" Casey exclaimed urgently. I turned to see his face turned upward towards the screens. I was afraid to look, to see what fate had befallen my friends, but I forced my head to turn. As I did I felt my heart sink.

Derek was on one of the screens, flopping on the floor like a fish. Of course, of all of the times to be changing, now had to be one of them. Mrs. Enright walked around him. She must've been deciding what to do to him. Her mouth opened and I could see that her lips were forming words. Though I couldn't hear what she was saying, I could tell by her malevolent smirk that she was taunting him. Her hands were on her hips as she walked around, and I gasped when I saw her kick Derek in the stomach.

"We have to go help him." I said as I turned away and started running towards the ladder.

"Wait!" Casey screeched. I told myself not to look around, but of course I did. I covered my mouth with my hand to keep in a shriek as I watched Derek's nose become elongated, even more than I had seen before. His legs twisted, and his shirt began to rip as his chest became even larger and covered in fur. What I could see off his hands turned into paws, and the long black nails glinted in the light of the office. His forehead protruded outward, and his mouth snapped open, revealing canine fangs rather than the teeth that I saw in the grin that I loved so deeply. By the look of terror on Mrs. Enright's face, I could tell that she was even more shocked than Casey and I were at Derek's sudden transformation. She immediately threw another knock-back spell at him, but it was too late. Derek had already landed on her body, knocking her to the ground and letting the spell hit a wall, causing a dent to form in the plaster.

'_We need to get up there before he kills her' _I screamed in my head. '_Since when do I care what happens to Tori's mom? She already tried to kill us, and probably already achieved in murdering aunt Lauren. I should be cheering Derek on'_ But I guess that's just not who I am.

"I'm going to go up and try to talk to Derek," I said "you stay down here and try to find the files."

"But--" I was already halfway up the ladder when Casey started his protest, and I didn't hear anything more. I quickly slipped up the trapdoor and back into the room where Derek was busy mauling Mrs. Enright. I tried to keep myself from getting nauseous as I saw the marks of blood splattered on the wall.

"Derek, stop!" I screeched, running over to get a better look at how badly Mrs. Enright was hurt. Surprisingly, she wasn't that bead off so far. Derek had only latched himself onto her right arm, and she was screaming bloody murder, but she wasn't seriously injured—yet. Derek didn't seem to hear my yells, and so I did the only thing I thought would get his attention. I grabbed a ruler from Dr. Davidoff's desk and smacked him in the back of the head. It only took a second for me to realize that was the dumbest thing I have ever done in my entire life.

Derek instantly snapped around and jumped on me, forcing me into the hard floor. His massive paws pinned my stomach to the floor, and I felt light0headed as the air was mercilessly knocked from my lungs. My screams caught in my throat, and all I could utter was a whisper.

"Derek, don't do this…please." I squeaked as Derek snarled, his furry muzzle only inches above my trembling nose. _'His breath still smells the same in wolf form; Sweet like it was the very first time we kissed.'_ That might have been one of the dumbest thoughts that had ever popped into my head, but it was the only thing that I could think of as Derek stared at me with those same beautiful eyes morphed into that canine face. I prayed that I would be able to see those eyes smile at me again someday.


	9. Chapter 9

I was stunned as Derek's growl ceased, and I felt the weight of his huge paws lift from my stomach. I sat up as he backed away, his floppy ears sitting down flat on the sides of his enormously thick neck. He sat right in front of Mrs. Enright, who was still lying flat on the floor and looking up at the ceiling in a daze. I was starting to think of something to say when Simon rushed into the room.

"Where's--" Simon's question was caught short when he saw Derek in wolf form watching the mauled Mrs. Enright. "Is that who I think it is?" He asked, though I was sure he already knew the answer. I nodded before getting swiftly to my feet.

"Where's Tori?" I asked.

"We found a room where there was a girl that they were experimenting on," Simon explained "Tori's trying to get her out of here before we set the place on fire." We had decided to torch the place after we got the information we needed. That way they couldn't track us, and maybe they'd be temporarily distracted so that we could figure a few other things out. I hadn't liked the idea, but everyone else thought it was the best thing. But what if someone got stuck in the building and couldn't get out? I didn't want blood on my hands…

I blinked as my thoughts changed from the fire to the thought of another supernatural in the building. I hadn't thought of that before, though it wasn't surprising that there'd been another girl that had figured the Edison Group out like us.

"We haven't found the files yet." I said, remembering where I had left Casey. "Casey's hurt. I'll go and try to help him find the files while you look for some kind of first aid kit or something." I said. Simon hesitated for a minute, as if thinking of a better idea, but he nodded and ran out of the room after the moment passed. "Derek…if you can hear me, I'm going down the passageway to help Casey. I'll be right back." The wolf looked at me and I could've sworn that he nodded. I ran through the secret room and zipped down the trap door to find Casey trying to scratch paint off of part of the wall. I noticed that he had taken off his shirt and torn it into shreds that he wrapped around the bullet wound in his arm. I could see that some blood was seeping through the bandage, but at least the flow seemed to be slowing down a little bit.

"It's behind here. The doctor guy has the key, but it's no use to us if we can't get this stupid thing out." Casey said in response to me walking over.

"Just wait until Simon or Tori can get here. They found a girl in one of the other rooms and--" Casey looked at me as soon as I spoke the word 'girl'. His face seemed pale and white, but I couldn't tell if it was from his blood-loss or because of what I'd just said.

"It has to be Alaina." He said under his breath. His usually loud voice was so soft that I could barely hear it.

"It might be," I said "Tori and Simon are going to get her out of here before we torch the place." Casey shook his head as if to clear his thoughts about his sister before going back to trying to scrape the paint off of the wall where the files were hidden. I walked over to the desk below all of the screens and opened the top drawer, hoping to find a pair of scissors or some other kind of tool that we could use to dislodge the safe. However, as I opened the drawer, I felt ice-cold fingers graze across my cheek, causing me to turn to my right. I saw the form of Brady, but I knew it wasn't him. It was the demon that had told me just how vast my powers were.

Brady (or the demon) had a smile on his face that eerily reminded me of the sick grin that Liam always wore. His hands were on his hips, and his eyes gazed at me intently.

"Back again I see." The demon snarled, it's evil grin widening "What's wrong? Can't find the spare key?" I didn't like the way it was taunting me.

"Go away." I said, trying to redirect my attention to the contents of the drawer.

"I know where it is." The demon said, a playful note in its (or Brady's) voice. "I can tell you, but you have to get me out of here." I ignored it, but it persisted. "Please? I promise I won't cause trouble…at least not too much."

"I said go away!" I yelled, spinning around to face the demon, but by the time I faced where it had been standing, it had disappeared.

"You ok?" Casey asked, pausing his insistent scraping for a few seconds.

"I'm fine." I grumbled as I turned back to the open drawer. I had a feeling that it was going to come back. There was no way I was doing anything to help that thing. I'd watched enough horror movies about stupid girls and spirits to know that it wouldn't take five minutes for me to regret it. I felt my brow furrow as I found a picture. I pulled it out and stared, scanning the familiar face.

It was Rae. I knew that there was some connection between her and Dr. Davidoff. I still wasn't sure what, but it was certainly no coincidence that Dr. Davidoff kept a picture of Rae in his desk. I laid the picture to the side as my fingers searched through all of the office supplies numbly, and I my mind eventually drifted off to thoughts about what aunt Lauren. I knew I had to find out exactly where she was, dead or alive, before we left this hellhole.

I felt all of the hairs on my entire body stand on end as I felt a form of electricity run through my foot. I gasped and brought the toe of my left shoe off of where I had just touched. I bent over and touched the ground that had sent the tingle through my foot, only to feel the exact same jolt go through my fingers. I pushed the desk a little farther forward, exposing the tiles underneath. They looked as if they had been pulled up, but why?

"Did you find something?" Casey asked. I looked up to see that he was still hard at work on the wall, and hadn't even looked over to see exactly what it was I was up to.

"No. I'm still looking." I replied. I needed to get back to the important task at hand, not try to explore every strange nook and cranny in the office.I went back to searching and almost jumped as my fingers gripped a tiny, translucent string. I watched as I pulled it out, revealing a small compartment in the very back of the drawer. I pulled the drawer completely out, setting it on the floor as I lifted the little door off. I set it down to the side as I felt around on the inside of the compartment.

"I got the key!" I yelled as I dislodged the cold key from its hiding place.

"Great. Keep it safe until we can get the files out…" Casey's voice trailed off as we heard footsteps from above. I prayed that it was Tori or Simon or even Derek, but I glanced at the screens to see the bald top of Dr. Davidoff's head.

* * *

The hair on the back of my neck prickled as my eyes frantically tried to find some kind of weapon. But, there was nothing to be found. Dr. Davidoff climbed down the ladder silently. I wouldn't have even known that he came into the room if I hadn't heard the footsteps. He turned around swiftly as his feet touched the ground, his face not looking near as old as usual. It seemed strange to see him without glasses, and color seemed to be added to his long, buzzard-like face. I was surprised to see that there was no weapon in his hands, but I knew that he was still just as much as a danger with or without a gun.

"Chloe Saunders and Casey Green. I would've never guessed that you'd ever be in the same state, let alone in my office together, trying to ruin everything I've worked so hard to create." Dr. Davidoff's voice was calm and level, but there was a threat in his words that caused me to back up into his dissected desk, gripping the edge until the tips of my fingers hurt from the pressure.

"Dr. Johnston…" I heard Casey say under his breath. I looked at him strangely until I digested the idea that Dr. Davidoff was more than one person. More than one therapist. More than one psychopath.

"Davidoff, Johnston, whichever you two think fits me best." The doctor said, his voice rising. "I guess there's no use in pretending that I'm one or the other anymore." With that, I watched as a floral vase lifted off of an end table and flung itself towards Casey, who narrowly got out of the way in time. Shards of glass and droplets of water sprang out, and I was sure that some of the glass embedded itself in Casey's legs. I knew that the doctor didn't care anymore whether we lived or died. We no longer believed his thread of lies; therefore we were no longer candidates for his experimentation. Casey and I were simply the next in line to be exterminated like the pests that we had become. I glared coldly at Dr. Davidoff, knowing that this was where I drew the line. I didn't come this close to getting what we needed only to be murdered by some loon who called himself a doctor. I wasn't sure how, but I was going to fight back.


	10. Chapter 10

I don't know if it was a coincidence or just dumb luck, but when I held my necklace, closed my eyes, and focused on summoning a spirit—any spirit—I was blessed with a response. I felt the air around me fill with faces that I didn't recognize. The faces spun around me, their mouths opening and closing as if to complain at me for summoning them. At least I didn't force them back into their corpses.

"Stop!" I screeched, and the many faces seemed to freeze, though their eyes fixed me in their cold stares. "Are all of you from Lyle House?" I only got a couple of nods in response, but it was enough for me. "Dr. Davidoff had many names, but for all of you, he only has one: death." I pointed over at the man who was so concentrated on using his powers against my friend. All of the faces turned, and I watched as their eyes filled with hatred. All of the ghosts swirled around Dr. Davidoff, though the only thing that he noticed was a slight breeze ruffle his oh-so-neat brown suit.

The tiles under the desk started to quiver as something that looked like a white stick poked through a spot where the tile was uneven. Several more of the little sticks popped up, and they wiggled as they tried desperately to grab a hold of the flooring. It was then that I realized it wasn't a bunch of sticks—it was bone.

I was the only one who noticed. I guess Casey was too busy trying to shield himself from the several objects that Dr. Davidoff—or Dr. Johnston—was sending flying through the air at him. Dr. Davidoff seemed to be finally noticing that the ghosts surrounding him were more than just a breeze of cold air. I knew that the ghosts couldn't do too much damage to him, but a zombie might be a whole different story. I leaped to the floor and started prying the three by three foot stone from the flooring. The first couple of attempts got me nowhere, but as I closed my eyes and willed it to come off, the stone seemed to fly off of the floor. I tossed it to the side and started digging through the thick layer of dirt that was blocking the corpse from freedom. I reared back when the whole hand broke through and grabbed my own wrist. It immediately let me go as a second hand started to break through the surface. It seemed like only a matter of seconds and the head appeared out of the clawed dirt.

I started backing away as the ivory-white skull dislodged itself from its earthen prison, revealing bare shoulders. This zombie must've been there much longer than the others, since there was no skin or hair left on its face. I was about to go back and help it the rest of the way when I was hit in the back of my own head with something hard. It didn't take two seconds for me to black out.

* * *

Though it felt like I slept forever, my passing out only lasted about two minutes. I opened my eyes and sat up, feeling the back of my now blood-streaked neck. I looked down to see a stapler lying on its side only a few feet away. I gradually began to remember where I was. I jumped up, expecting to see Casey lying dead on the floor somewhere. However, the cards were much more in my favor than I had expected.

Casey was crouched in a corner, trying to tear pieces of his shirt to soak up the blood from his multiple wounds. He was hurt, but he was definitely not dead. I glanced at the other side of the room to see Dr. Davidoff being taunted by the spirits I had summoned. He was able to see nothing, but I watched intently as the spirits grabbed and tore of pieces of his clothing, or slapped him across the face. I even thought I saw Brady in the mix off spirits, though they were all moving too much for me to be completely sure. The ghosts' rage seemed violent, and I suspected that they were the souls of the kids before me who were put into Lyle House and never returned to their normal lives. I wouldn't have been surprised if it had been Dr. Davidoff himself who somehow slaughtered these innocent victims.

"Casey, we need to get the safe and get out of here." I said, my voice stunningly calm for our situation. Casey nodded and stood up, wiping some of the sweat from his brow. I was about to start trying to wrench the stupid safe from the wall when something clung to my shawl. I spun on my heels to see the zombie that I raised at my feet, trying to grab me to help itself stand. "Stop." I commanded. It stayed on its knees, as if frozen by my words.

"What the--" I heard Casey say, but it was drowned out by the sound of running from above. _God, please don't let it be Mrs. Enright or some other whack-job._ I prayed to myself. I nearly hugged Tori when she came down the ladder so fast that it seemed like she had just flown down. Her face twisted with confusion when she saw Dr. Davidoff batting his hands at what she saw as just empty air. She turned to me and her face turned pale when she saw the zombie at my feet, though unlike all of the other times, she managed to hold in her screams of fright. I could tell she wanted an explanation for everything, but there was no way that that was going to happen.

"Ignore it." I said as she turned her head up to me, her eyes full of anxiety. "Can you blast the wall or something? Anything that will get this stupid thing out of here." Tori looked at the spot where the paint had been scratched and a slick black surface was now in view.

"I'll try." Tori said, motioning for me to step back. I gladly did so and watched nervously as she flung her wrist several times, each time resulting in a hole in the wall even larger than the last. Finally, there was barely anything holding the files up, and I was able to wrench it from the plaster wall. "Simon's started spreading the gasoline." Tori said, meaning that we needed to get out of there fast.

"What about Derek and your mom?" I asked.

"We put my mom under a sleeping spell and put her outside where she won't get burned," Tori answered "and Derek's following Simon. Now lets get out of here." I didn't need anymore coaxing.

* * *

I held the surprisingly heavy safe as I ran to the ladder. "Are you going to be able to get up alright?" I asked Casey as he wiped some blood from his cheek where glass had buried itself in his soft flesh.

"Yeah." He grunted, his voice even more raspy than usual as he grabbed the wrings of the ladder. I looked back nervously and realized that I couldn't see Dr. Davidoff or the spirits anymore. Everything seemed so quiet, so still. I knew there was something wrong. "Chloe?" Casey called from the next floor.

"You go ahead, I'll be right there." I shouted up. I knew Tori and Casey wouldn't be satisfied with my answer, but it was the only thing I could think of to say. My eyes darted from corner to corner of the office, looking for Dr. Davidoff.

"Chloe! We need to get out of here!" Tori yelled from above. I regretfully turned back to the ladder. "Pass me the safe!" Tori shouted, and I tried to toss the small but heavy safe up to her. She didn't catch it, but she must've learned some kind of new spell from Simon, since it seemed to float right into her awaiting arms. I started climbing the ladder, trying to focus on the next wring rather than my worries. That's when I felt freezing fingers wrap around my bare ankle.

I flailed my right leg, hoping that my heel would dig into Dr. Davidoff's face. I saw the absolute madness in his eyes and knew that there was no way he was going to let me go. He gave one yank that nearly made me fall, but I was thankfully able to hold on with one hand. I looked behind my shoulder and caught a glimpse of the corpse that I had raised then completely forgot about. I knew exactly what to do.

"Stand up!" I screamed, causing Dr. Davidoff to look around just long enough for me to get my foot out of his grasp and kick him hard in the back of the head. He stumbled backwards, clutching his head, but he remained standing. The look of anger in his eyes only increased. "Attack!" I yelled, holding onto the ladder for dear life. I was surprised by the speed of the undead corpse (or maybe skeleton would be a better word) as it ran at Dr. Davidoff; it's bony arms flailing. Dr. Davidoff immediately threw a punch, but the skeleton ducked and ran into his waist, knocking him into the wall. It was almost funny watching the two brawl. It was like the living and the dead were engaged in a football game. I hated to leave, but Tori and Casey were still calling me, and this was my opportune moment to run, so I took it.


	11. Chapter 11

I know that this chapter is short, but oh well :)

* * *

The next passing minutes went by without me really seeing much detail. I was just so thankful to be alive that nothing else in the world seemed to matter except for my thoughts. I didn't really start seeing what was happening around me until we were all outside and the building was aflame. As soon as I noticed the orange and yellow gleam of destruction, it seemed as if someone had pressed the fast-forward button on my life.

Sirens rang loudly from the building, and I could hear the 'shhhh' sound of the fire extinguishers going off in the building I had come to hate. I shivered as I imagined men burning, and I instantly remembered the corpse in the office. Though Simon was trying to pull me closer to the bushes, I stopped right where I was and closed my eyes, focusing on an image of a shell with a white light glistening from inside. Despite everyone's urgent shouts, I didn't let them distract me until I felt something snap within me, and I knew that the spirit was free from its prison. I opened my eyes and finally ran with Simon, whose forehead was drenched in sweat and eyes scorched with panic.

We ran and ran until the only sounds of the fire I could hear were the ones that would forever be etched into my mind.

"What have we done?" I said between deep pants as Simon stopped and bent over, exaughsted hands on his knees. What if someone had been hurt? What if their ghost came after me? What if there were more kids like us in the building that we hadn't found? Would they be burned to death? Or would the fire be put out soon enough?

"Don't worry," I heard Tori say from behind us "we only set a small fire, just enough to keep them from following us." For the first time since we left, I turned around. I not only saw Tori and Casey, but there was a girl I'd never seen before with them.

She was actually very pretty, and looked like something I might've seen on the cover of a magazine. She was about my age if not slightly older, she was tall, and had long, raven-black hair that decorated her narrow face and draped across her bare, pale shoulders. Her dark green eyes glanced around nervously, like a baby deer seeing the world for the very first time. Her cherry-red lips were pursed as she started rubbing her bare arms (she was wearing a tank-top) and slowed down and joined us. There was something eerily familiar about her, but I couldn't place it.

"You look freezing." I couldn't help myself from saying. I was about to take off my shawl and give it to her when she spoke.

"I'll be fine." She said, her voice almost too quiet for me to hear. "Who are you guys?" Casey opened his mouth to explain when there was a moan from the bushes to my right. I walked over cautiously and saw a mass of fur shivering on the ground in the fetal position. It was Derek alright, though he wasn't completely a wolf, but definitely not human. I heard a gasp from the girl behind me as her eyes settled on him.

"Derek." I called, stepping over the low bush and getting on my knees beside him. I hovered my hand right above his back, not sure if I should make contact. A low moan escaped his throat, and I went ahead and started stroking his back. The hair was starting to reseed, but painfully slow. I looked over at his legs, which seemed to be the first to lose the fur, revealing legs that looked horribly crippled. Derek's spine suddenly straightened, and he made a noise that was something between a scream and a howl.

"Who is it?" Derek asked weakly once the spasm was over. I guessed he wasn't planning on opening his eyes or focusing on listening to the sound of my voice to realize who I was.

"It's Chloe." I said softly "We're all here for you, Derek. We got the--"

"Get away." He groaned and reached out a hand to smack mine out of the way. However, the attempt was so feeble that it seemed more like he was just waving than trying to make me leave. I laced my fingers with his, hoping that he'd find comfort, but instead he just pulled away and tried to roll over, though it proved to be too much for him and he just gave up and laid there.

"I'll be ok, please go away Chloe." Derek asked pitifully. I looked up at Simon to see if his eyes would give me any type of guidance, but he just shrugged. I took my hand away, but I remained there by his side. I'd always be at his side, whenever he needed me; even if he didn't want to admit it.

I stared at not only Derek's quivering body, but at how the light of the half-moon silhouetted his form. I was reminded of that time in the kitchen so long ago. I longed to be there again. To feel safe and warm, to know that, for the time being, we would be ok. To see Derek's warm half-smile as we joked together over glasses of milk.

The ocean of hair was nearly gone when I focused back on the real world, and I could see that the shape of his face was starting to go back to normal. All of his clothes were gone, but luckily Casey had bought a few blankets along with the new pair of jeans that had just been ruined. He reached in the backpack that Simon had been carrying and handed one to me. I tenderly laid it across Derek's naked body and leaned over to kiss his head. Suddenly, Derek's eyes opened and he scooted away quickly, like I was a child that was trying to pet a scared animal.

"Derek--" I said, reaching out my hand towards him as he sat up and slid himself across the ground. I could tell that he was barely able to support himself, but he kept himself in the sitting position, the blanket sliding down and exposing his bare, muscular chest. He lifted his chin and smelled the air for a minute, his eyes squinting as he searched for a scent, and then widening again when he found it. Simon walked over silently to him, holding out his hand. Derek hesitated but then took it, holding the blanket to his lower body as he stood up. Once he was on his feet, he stared at the girl.

"Are you part of the pack?" Derek asked, taking a step closer to the girl. I myself stood up and observed the amazed look on the girl's thin face. The thought of her being a werewolf had never even crossed my mind.

"No…but I am a werewolf like you…" the girl said, crossing her arms and leaning her head a little closer as she studied Derek's face carefully "I remember you." She exclaimed with a short gasp, straightening her neck once again and putting a hand up to her mouth.

"Remember me?" Derek asked as his eyebrows angled themselves. He seemed to be wracking his brain for any memory with her in it.

"They said that you got taken away. I thought they just killed you…like they did to them." The girl said as she lowered her white hand from her mouth.

"Them?" Derek asked, looking even more bewildered.

"Our brothers." The girl whispered into the cold night air.


	12. Chapter 12

Sorry it's taken so long, but for the last few days it hasn't been letting me upload anything for some reason. Oh well, please read and review!

* * *

"What?" Derek asked in a high, astonished voice.

"I remember…we were only four or five years old when they started separating me from the boys. Something about aggressive hormones that they didn't want to expose me to." The girl took a deep breath and closed her eyes "I wrote it down somewhere…every time I heard a struggle in the room you guys were in…they took the boys out one by one…and they never came back." Her breath started coming out more unevenly "There was a man and another boy about our age. The boy looked Chinese, but had blond hair." With that, she opened her eyes and looked at Simon, who was standing dazedly beside Derek. "They told me that he was taken because he was the last of the boys. The only one that didn't bite the hand that fed him. You're him. You're the smart one. You have to be." The only sound in the patch of woods was the breeze rustling the leaves.

"You're Lauren." Derek's voice finally broke the silence. He cleared his throat. "I remember you now. You were the only girl." He smiled slightly "I remember how all of the other boys would pick on you. I was the only one that didn't." The two exchanged knowing glances, as if they recalled more than they were willing to tell us.

"Well…this is a great family reunion and all, but we just stole from a laboratory, and I think it's time we actually get out the files." Tori spoke up bluntly, knocking everyone out of their trances.

"Tori's right." Casey said. I looked over at him and recalled his condition.

"Oh God Casey, I'm so sorry. Are you going to be ok?" I asked. His arm was still bloody, along with several cuts on his face.

"It's fine. I haven't died from massive blood loss yet, so I think I'll be ok." Casey answered. All of the blood looked like it had dried, but we needed to get him to some running water so we could check his wounds better. "Do you still have the key?" he asked. I'd almost completely forgot about the safe, and fished in my back pocket until I found where I had stashed it. I hadn't even remembered putting it in my pocket, but that didn't really matter as long as we still had it. I handed it to Tori, who took it greedily as she knelt down, setting the safe on the ground as she stuck in the key.

"Please don't have this be a trick or something…" Tori said under her breath. It made my heart pace quicker. I hadn't even thought of the possibility of it being another decoy. Casey sometimes got messed up visions. I just hoped he'd been completely right this time.

Tori opened it slowly, as if she was _trying _to build up the suspense. I leaned over her shoulder to get a look at the safe, which looked barren and empty.

"It was another decoy wasn't it?" Derek asked, seeing my crestfallen face. His voice sounded angry, but he was way too tired to voice it very well. I was about to tell him yes when Tori reached in and pulled out a small disk and a small piece of plastic.

"What the hell is that?" I heard Simon say as Tori handed me the plastic thing and flipped over the disk in her hands.

"It's a storage disk of course," Tori answered "duh. The Edison Group may be old, but they know technology. What, did you think they were just going to fold up their papers and stick it in the safe?" she asked sarcastically in a condescending tone. I had a feeling she was going to start being nasty again, but after the long day that we'd all had, I couldn't blame her.

"Great. How the hell are we going to get to a computer?" Tori asked, her voice rising in frustration.

"That's not so important right now. As long as we know we have the information, we accomplished what we needed to do for the time being," Derek said, "we just need to try and find some place we can go without them finding us. We don't have a lot of time. As soon as they find out the files are missing, they'll be after us, if they aren't already." Derek said as he tightened the blanket around his waist. "Put the devices back in the safe. Now Casey, show us exactly where you were shot."

* * *

We walked (yet again) to try and find someplace that would help us clean out Casey's wounds. Derek had gotten some pants on, but we didn't have any shirts, so he was still bare-chested. I didn't have a problem with it really, I just had to try and keep my cheeks from reddening and my eyes in front of me rather then on his chest.

As we were walking, we learned a little bit more about Lauren. She'd rarely been out of the Edison Building, only to go shopping for clothes every once in a while. She'd always tried hard to be the 'model experiment' because she knew how the Edison Group killed her brothers, and she did not to make their mistakes. She talked about how, unlike us, she had never been kept in the dark about what she was. Dr. Davidoff had apparently taken a shine to her, and had been teaching her about werewolves. He told her that werewolves could be horrible monsters, and that that was his reason for giving her medication, which was why she hadn't had any werewolf side effects. I expected Derek to talk to his long-lost sister, but he stayed quiet in the shadows, looking straight ahead and absorbing her words. It almost seemed as if he thought of her as a useful piece of information rather than family.

After walking for about forty-five minutes, we finally found a park, and Derek led us straight to the restroom. It was one of the filthiest places I'd ever been in, but it had running water, and that was what we needed.

"Hold still." Tori commanded as Casey held out his arm for her to clean out. There wasn't much soap in the dispenser, but Derek easily took care of that by pretty much ripping the top off of it and allowing us to scoop out what little there was still inside. Casey winced as Tori rubbed the soap and water combination into his bullet wound, but he didn't complain. As Simon, Tori, Casey, and Lauren were cleaning out the wounds, I decided I'd join Derek. He'd gone outside as soon as he'd fixed the soap problem.

"Hey." I said when I found Derek leaning against the side of the restroom, hands in his pockets.

"Hey." He replied casually with one glance my way. He seemed to tense up as I walked over.

"Are you ok?" I asked even though I knew he wasn't. There was a moment of silence before he answered.

"No, not really." He said, "I've just been thinking about what happened back at the Edison building." He breathed out a long sigh before continuing, "Mrs. Enright is never going to be the same." I hadn't even thought about Tori's mom since we'd left. Then it hit me; Derek's teeth had sunk themselves deeply into her arm. It was certain that Derek's saliva got into Mrs. Enright's bloodstream.

"I didn't even think about that…" I said. I knew my words didn't help, but I wasn't sure what else to say. I took a step closer and tried to rest my hand on his shoulder, but he shied away immediately.

"Don't touch me. It's too dangerous." He said.

"What are you talking about?" I asked.

"I almost did the same thing to you, Chloe. If I'd even barely nipped at you…" his eyes fixed themselves on a swing that was barely visible in the darkness. "I'd never be able to forgive myself." With that, he looked down at the ground in shame.

"Derek, it wasn't your fault. You didn't have any contr--"

"Yes, I did. Or else, I wouldn't have been able to make myself stop. I came so close to hurting you. It was hard to get myself off of you." He said, "I know that not every time I'm going to have that kind of luck. I'm not always going to be able to control myself in the nick of time. I think I should just stay as far away from everyone as possible from now on."

"That's ridiculous. The only time we need to worry at all about that is when you're changing. And you'll learn to control it better as time goes on. You don't need to even--"

"Chloe," he interrupted, silencing me with a glance of his serious eyes "I know that we're…we like each other. But it's not worth it. It's not worth risking your life over." And with that, he started walking into the darkness, as if on cue. I gazed after him, trying to think of something to say, but nothing came to my head. My mouth was dry and my heart felt like a lifeless pile of rubble in my chest. I knew that Derek hadn't meant to come so close to hurting me. Plus, I'd provoked him. There was no way that he would've come at me like that if I hadn't hit him first…right?

_Well, it was bound to happen sooner or later…_ I thought to myself. _What, were you planning on spending the rest of your life with someone that controlling, bossy, anti-social, and stubborn?_ My mind went blank for a minute as I searched for the answer. But in my heart, I knew. It didn't matter that he was controlling and bossy, he was just trying to do what was best for all of us. I didn't care that he could be anti-social, because he had truly opened up to me. It didn't matter that he was stubborn, I was too! It was then that I realized what love really was.

Love was when you felt nervous and grateful at the same time when you're in someone's presence. Love was when no matter how bad things were, one glance at a person can make you feel as safe as could be. Love was when your heart sung whenever you saw a certain person smile or laugh. Despite all of his faults, Derek had a good heart, and there was no way that I could convince myself that I wasn't deeply in love with him.


	13. Chapter 13

I was about to start running to find Derek when Tori and Casey walked out of the bathroom together, Casey putting on a fake pout.

"C'mon, it didn't hurt that much." Tori giggled. '_Tori, giggling?' _I thought as I turned my head to face them.

"I still say that I need a kiss to make it feel better." Casey said flirtatiously. It was corny, but Tori looked at him for a second, her eyes flashing up and down his body as if wondering if that would be a good thing to do. Then she turned away, her cheeks pink, as Simon and Lauren came out of the bathroom chattering away. I would've never guessed that sulky, sarcastic Tori would ever go for a guy with a Southern accent and a ponytail. Then again, who was I to judge? I was sure that Derek and I didn't seem like the perfect couple either.

"Where'd Derek go?" Simon asked once he was done answering some question that Lauren had asked.

"He ran off." I said. I tried to keep my sadness and anguish out of my voice, but the emotions were strung throughout my words.

"What happened?" Simon asked with concern. I was touched that after all that had happened, he still cared enough to ask, but I just shook my head.

"Nothing. He's probably just finding someplace for us to sleep for the night." I said. It was only a half lie, since Derek was probably trying to find a hideaway. I watched nervously as my breath blow out in cotton balls about me, not daring to look in Simon's direction. He knew something was up, but he didn't push me any farther. All was quiet besides Casey and Tori's hushed whispers until I heard a gagging sound coming from my far right.

I spun my head around frantically, expecting to find Derek curled up in the fetal position spewing out the contents of his stomach yet again. To my surprise, I saw nothing but a sliver of white light across a gleaming surface.

It was a lake. I squinted and made out a small gazebo on the edge, looking over the vast waters. The gagging sound came again, and I took a few steps towards the lake.

"What is it?" I heard Simon's voice from behind me, but I simply ignored him. There was a commotion in the water, right in front of the gazebo. I saw an arm rise up out of the water. That was all I needed to see. I started running into the darkness, not caring that I could stumble over something, or that I wasn't really sure how far away the lake was. My legs seemed to be moving on pure instinct, and I ran and ran until the shouts of frustration behind me almost ceased, and I could just barely hear the footsteps of my friends behind me. I didn't even start to slow down until the gazebo was only about three feet in front of me.

"Chloe! Stop being so stupid, you're going to hurt yourself!" Tori's voice echoed through the night "We didn't see anything! It must be a ghost!" I knew that Tori was right and that it was probably a ghost, but something inside me made me sprint all of the way there. I didn't look back as I took the first couple of steps onto the little bridge connected to the gazebo. I gasped as my foot fell through a hole in the wood, but I merely pulled my foot out and stepped to the side. I was supposed to be there. I knew that. Why? I had no idea. But I had every intention of finding out.

I pulled my shawl around me as I finally felt the cold nip at my cheeks. My converse made a hollow sound as I took each excruciatingly slow step. It felt like it took me hours to cross the five feet of bridge, when it was really only a matter of seconds. I kept walking straight when I entered the gazebo, nearly getting tangled up in a fishing line that had been carelessly left behind. I threw it to the side, not caring where it landed. My eyes had finally adjusted to the dimness, and I could see that the gazebo was painted white. On each of its five sides (not counting the side connected to the bridge) there was a small bench that faced towards the water. Images of aunt Lauren and I feeding the ducks at one of my favorite childhood parks flashed through my mind. By the time I was done reminiscing, I was at the bench farthest out, right where I had seen the splashing. I took a deep breath as I leaned over the white guardrails.

At first, I saw nothing but the still surface of the water. I stared at it for a while, willing it to change, when suddenly, it did. I immediately thought that it was a fish or a turtle, but the idea was dismissed from my mind within a matter of seconds. It was too cold for turtles to be out, and why would the fish come up to the surface at this exact moment? A white object abruptly appeared in the water. It looked like a piece of bread that may have been left over from a child throwing their lunch into the water to feed the ducks. As the object grew larger, I realized it was connected to something else. I nearly screamed when a face floated up to the surface, it's eyes open and blinking. I tried to hold in my cries as I recognized the face, rimmed with long blonde hair.

"Mom." I squeaked as her wide, blood-red lips began to open. My mother's lips mouthed the word 'Chloe', though no sound came out. Her face seemed to get larger as she raised from the depths, first her neck and shoulders becoming visible, and then her whole torso. I wanted so badly to think of something to say. Those shocking blue eyes seemed to beg for some kind of response, but nothing came to my head besides the question '_is this really happening?'_ I felt my eyes prickle painfully with tears as my mom finally found her voice.

"My beautiful Chloe," she said, "do you still have your necklace?" All I could do was nod dumbly as I clutched at the chain under my shawl. My mom was now at my level, and I didn't even bother looking down to seem how high off of the water she was floating. It didn't matter. All that mattered is that she was there, and I felt a liquid warmth radiate through me, seeming to fill every crack in my heart. "You have gone so far since I last saw you, and yet you still have so far to go." Her voice reminded me of ice on a hot summer day; calm and cool, and such a relief.

"Mom. I miss you so much." I whispered as her hand reached out and clutched my face. I felt the freezing dampness from her long, slender fingers wet my cheek, but I didn't care. I noticed that she was wearing a gorgeous dark-purple dress, the same one that they had dressed her in for her funeral.

"I know. I miss you too," She said sympathetically "but you still have so much to accomplish. You have a great gift, one that I wish I could help you develop. I can't be there, but your friends can. You need to listen to them, let them help you. All of you are in this terrible game together, but you are all very clever, and I know that you can find someway to overcome this obstacle." Her words were so deep, and penetrated my soul like so many arrows.

"But you _can_ help. You can help me so much…I can summon you, we can see each other whenever--" my mouth was running a mile a minute until my mom retracted her hand and pressed a finger to her lips.

"I have to go." She said as she started sinking again into the water. I felt paralyzed for a second before my emotions all erupted from me at once.

"What? No! You can't!" I screeched, "I know we have so much to talk about; I just need a minute to think about it! Wait! Stop! Please, oh please don't go!" I pleaded, finally letting my tears fall down my face, soaking my cheeks. The warmth that I had felt before seemed to be sucked from my body, leaving my soul a cold, lifeless shell. I heard myself sobbing hysterically as I stretched my arms over the railing, trying in vain to grasp a strand of my mother's golden hair. As I frantically tried to grab at her, I lost my balance, plunging headfirst into the murky lake.


	14. Chapter 14

To my surprise, the lake water wasn't nearly as cold as I expected it to be. Don't get me wrong; it was cold, but not freezing like I thought. My eyes were open, but I could see nothing but a blackish-green abyss. My mother could be right beside me and I wouldn't even know it. I closed my eyes and let myself sink.

I knew how to swim, but what was the point? My mom was gone, my aunt Lauren was gone, even Derek was gone. A mob of crazy people was trying to kill us, and I felt as if there was no use in trying to get myself out of the mess I was in. I merely let the abyss swallow me up like a black hole. I expected to pass out quickly, but I was amazed with the amount of time it took for my lungs to start burning. By then I had squeezed my eyes shut, and I was still somewhere in the middle of the water, definitely not at the top, but not quite down at the bottom. My ears were deaf, my eyes were blind, and for some reason I barely felt the pain from my lack of oxygen. It seemed like the best way to die. So tranquil, the waters just enveloping me in their overwhelming embrace. Suddenly, I felt hands grab me roughly from behind and yank me upwards. My mouth opened in shock, allowing some of the dirty water to flood into my mouth and down my throat.

"Chloe. C'mon, you're ok." I heard a familiar rough voice say. I must've been farther gone than I had thought, since it took time for my blurry vision to be able to see more than just fuzzy shapes. I mumbled something incomprehensible even to myself before coughing up water onto the muddy bank. I looked up to see Derek, his face hard and solemn but his eyes full of relief.

"I was being stupid again, wasn't I?" I breathed as I let myself rest in his arms. He half-smiled and let out a little bit of a chuckle.

"It was a stupid thing to do, yes. But, I think you found something useful to us in the process." He said, looking over to the left. My eyes followed his gaze and found that there was a cavern carved into the side of the bank. I realized that we weren't up on the land that I'd run on, but down below, on the lowest part of the bank. I heard the panicked voices of Simon, Tori, and Casey call from above. Derek was opening his mouth when I reached up and touched the side of his face.

"You were wrong." I said. He closed his mouth and looked at me quizzically before I went on. "You talked about how dangerous you were, and how it was unsafe for me to be around you. You saved me, Derek. You're not a monster. You're the same as you always were." Derek gazed at me, the corners of his mouth just barely facing upward. I could tell that he was happy, but his eyes showed just how tired he was, how weak he felt. "Promise you'll never act like such an idiot again and leave me?" I asked as I leaned my head on his chest.

"As long as I can help it Chloe." He said with a sigh as he started stroking my drenched hair with the palm of his hand. The moment didn't last long before Lauren finally spotted us. I guess the medication didn't cover up her keen, nocturnal sight.

"What happened?" she asked as she jumped about six feet down to where Derek and I were sitting. I guess her agility was the same as a wolf's too, since she didn't even stumble in the muck. The shy, quiet Lauren that I had just met seemed to vanish. I could see her eyes shine in the darkness, searching her new environment. She seemed to belong out here, breathing the fresh air into her lungs. By what she had told us, she hadn't really had much time outside in her own element.

"Hey, we don't have super werewolf reflexes like you guys!" I heard Casey call from the above bank. A few second later I saw him sliding down the side, trying his hardest not to fall in the mud. Yet, it was inevitable, and he tripped, falling on his butt. He got up quickly, telling us that nothing was hurt but his pride. Simon followed, slipping and sliding in the mud. Casey walked over to the edge and called to Tori, telling her that he'd catch her if she fell. You could tell that he was trying to be such a romantic. Derek stood up, helping me to my feet as well.

"What happened?" Lauren repeated as Derek walked into the hollow of the bank.

"I…I s-saw my m-m-mom." I stuttered. Lauren's brow furrowed, showing that she didn't know why that would result in me being sopping wet and sprawled out in the mud. "She died a long time ago." With that, Lauren nodded, finally grasping the idea of why it was important to me.

"So you decided to take a swim?" Tori asked, her arms crossed as usual.

"We didn't talk for very long before she started sinking back into the water again," I explained "and I guess I just got kinda carried away…" I then realized just how stupid it had been for me to try and grab my mother; even if I had managed to grasp a piece of her hair (which was probably impossible), it wouldn't have done me any good. For some reason she had to leave, and there was no way that I could make her stay. The thought was bitter, and I quickly tried to turn my attention to something else. "Derek? You still in there?" I called through cupped hands into the cavern. My only reply was the sound of my voice bouncing off of the walls, and then perfect silence. I looked at the others anxiously before taking baby steps into the hollow.

My shoes stuck in the mud, making a suction-cup noise. As I ventured further, it became harder for me to bring them up out of the muck. But, I kept going, knowing that Derek was somewhere in there. "Derek?" I called again.

"Chloe, you're gonna get lost if you try to find him in the dark." I jumped as I heard Simon's voice right behind me. I hadn't even noticed that he was following me. One scratch sound and there was a sudden burst of light as Simon lit a match. The new light illuminated the walls of this weird tunnel. I looked at the ground to see Derek's large footprints smeared in the mud. However, the ground steadily got more solid, and his tracks became nearly invisible. I stopped and let Simon catch up to me, match in hand.

"Derek?" I called yet another time, this time with a muffled sound a little farther ahead as an answer. I looked at Simon, who had a questioning look on his face. "Something doesn't feel right," I said as I slowly backed away "we need to get out of here."

"I admit, this place is a little creepy, but we can't just leave Derek and--" those were the last words that escaped his mouth before something grabbed him from behind and pulled him backwards, causing him to fall to the ground. I tried to cry out, but a hand slapped itself hard against my mouth, and pulled me back. I felt myself falling backwards just like Simon, but everything was already dark by the time I hit the ground.


	15. Chapter 15

I am soo sorry I haven't posted in such a long time! I've been having a lot of family troubles lately, and it's preoccupied me. Plus, writer's block can get pretty serious in some cases. I promise I'll try and keep my mind on the story longer, sorry for the wait…anyway, here you guys go!

* * *

My eyelids fluttered open slowly. I found my hands tied behind my back. I was sitting on the ground, my ankles also forced together. It was the classic kidnap scene. I looked to my right to see Simon, his head lying limply on his shoulder. I looked to my left to see Casey, who was also unconscious. I turned back to Simon and tried to talk to him, but was surprised when my lips wouldn't part.

I knew that there was no gag across my mouth; I couldn't feel anything. It was then that I realized there were no cords or anything wrapped around my ankles. I tried to separate my legs, but it was as if there was some invisible presence holding them together.

"Chloe." I heard a whisper in my ear that instantly made my spine straighten. A noise escaped my throat and I found myself whimpering without opening my mouth. "So that is your name?" the liquid voice said, and I felt an arm slide behind my back, grabbing my right arm and roughly yanking me upward. I stumbled, trying to get my footing enough to stand up. With another harsh jerk I was on my feet. My head snapped to the side to see whom it was grasping my arm, but all I saw was air.

I tried in vain to ask what it wanted, but of course the invisible gag muffled all that came out.

"What's wrong? Does my little play toy think I'm too rough?" the voice asked. It scared me just how much it reminded me of Liam.

"Clay. Stop it." I heard a girl's voice echo from behind me. I felt the grasp on my arm relax, but it didn't cease to be. "She's already scared. We don't need her to die of a heart attack before we even get a chance to use her." I whipped my head around to see a girl with her arms crossed and look disapproving, reminding me of Tori. The strange thing about her was her clothing; she wore a black veil that hid her face, and a black dress that reached her ankles, not quite hiding her bare feet. It reminded me of a few witch flicks I'd seen in the past. My eyes traveled back to her veiled face as she waved her hand violently, and I could suddenly breath a thousand times better. I coughed and swallowed to bring comfort to my dry mouth.

"Are any of the others awake?" the voice named Clay asked as I panted.

"The big one did, but Josiah took care of him." She answered. As if on cue, I heard a strange moan from somewhere in the dimly lit cave. I felt my heart leap in my chest before sinking down to the very pit of my stomach.

"What the hell did you do to him?" I shrieked, my voice betraying me by whining and showing my fear. The girl's head tilted to the side slightly, and I heard Clay giggle from behind me.

"What? Is that your boyfriend?" the girl scoffed "You two make an odd couple." I glared at her.

"Who the hell are you guys?" I asked, not taking my eyes off of the girl.

"We don't have to explain ourselves to some little teenage runaway." She answered. I hadn't even thought that this had had anything to do with my father's add in the paper, but then again, I wasn't sure what I had been thinking.

"This is about the ransom money, isn't it?" I said. The girl shrugged.

"It was, until we noticed you had a few friends. We'll give you back to daddy, but your friends are going to be spending a little bit of time with us." She said, her head looking towards Simon.

"What do you want with my friends?" I questioned. I clenched my teeth as the fingers securing my arms tightened.

"What we want with them is our business." The girl hissed. "Enough with the stupid questions." I felt my eyes widen as I heard the crackling of bones. The girl keeled over, a look of pain on her face. She groaned as her body elongated, breasts sinking into her torso, arms becoming muscular. Her strange wardrobe morphed and changed colors. The veil melted into her head, revealing spiky black hair. Once her groan stopped, she stood up straight, bringing long fingers through her new hair. She smiled smugly from an attractive male face with a straight nose and brown eyes.

"What are you…" my voice trailed off as I scanned her new body. Her—or his—transformation was nothing like Derek's, since she only seemed to feel slight discomfort, and, obviously, she didn't turn into a wolf. The newly formed man walked over to me and put his large hand on the side of my face, just like Derek had done the day of our first kiss.

"I hate that we don't have any time to play with you, but we need the cash." He said before drawing his hand back.

"What makes you think I won't just tell my dad that you have my friends in here?" I asked, my tone deadly serious. Thankfully, this time I was able to keep my fear bottled up for the moment.

"What, are you gonna tell your daddy that a shape shifter is holding your witch and werewolf friends in a cave? He'll throw you right back into that crazy house." The man said mockingly.

"How did you know--"

"Please, how do you think we knew you were going to be here? You're mind-reader friend isn't the only one of his kind, right Clay?" he asked, looking over my shoulder at whatever invisible thing was holding my hands behind my back. I looked sideways and realized that whatever it was had now taken a solid form of a really tall guy with a brown buzz-cut.

"We already called Mr. Saunders. It's time to bring you back to daddy." Clay said as he turned me to the mouth of the cave. There was no way I was going to let the two freaks drag me back to civilization without a fight, so I counted the footsteps. 1…2…3…4…5 At the count of five, I brought my knee up so high that I could've hit myself in the face and brought it down with as much force as possible on my captor's foot. I expected to hear a shrill cry of pain and to feel my arms released, but he still held on and I didn't even feel him flinch behind me.

"Aw, you think you can hurt me. How cute." Clay snickered and pushed me forward so violently that I fell out of his grasp and flat on my face. I struggled to sit up, but my hands were forced together behind my back, so all I could do was spit out mud at my side.

"Touch her again and I'll make sure that if you ever do leave here, you'll be limping." A husky voice growled. I immediately knew that it was Derek.

"How the hell did you get passed Josiah?" Clay hissed as he spun around. I looked up the best that I could and saw Derek holding the blonde guy some kind of knife at his throat, and Tori holding some book in her arms.

"Looks like someone's a little bit too into Halloween." Tori said as she flipped through the pages, one hand rising up and flinging to the side, causing Clay to be thrown to one of the walls of the cave. As soon as Clay slid to the ground, I felt the tie on my hands disappear. I pushed myself up in time to see the blonde guy suddenly turn into a blur of color and vanish from Derek's grasp. Derek looked around dazedly, knife still in hand. Without even thinking about it, I found myself with my arms around him, my face buried in his strong chest. His arms closed around me hesitantly, he probably hadn't expected me to do that. I hadn't expected myself to!

"Break it up before that guy comes back." Tori scolded as she slammed the book closed and ran over to Casey and, shaking him awake. I let go of Derek and looked up at his face.

"Nice outfit." He teased and I looked down to see all of the mud smeared across my body. I let out a long sigh and shrugged.

"Thanks." I nodded up at him. The corners of his mouth almost lifted into a smile, but stopped when a mirror image of him popped up out of nowhere and punched him hard in his right cheek.


	16. Chapter 16

I cried out in surprise as the Derek that I had just hugged stumbled sideways, just narrowly catching his balance in time to dodge away from the next punch.

"What the hell!?" The first Derek cried out as he ducked another punch and jumped forward, grabbing his attacker by the waist and tumbling with him to the ground. I felt helpless as I watched the two identical werewolves rolling across the floor. I no longer had any idea which one was the one I had just been talking to, and which was the one that had attacked.

Suddenly, I was distracted from the fight by a glass-shattering scream. I immediately spun around to see Lauren lying on the floor, a large shard of glass embedded in her stomach. Her eyes were squeezed shut and her mouth formed a pained squiggle. Tori had her hand clasped over her own mouth, staring in disbelief at what looked like Simon. He stood above Lauren, staring down at her quivering body. I knew it couldn't be Simon; Simon didn't seem to have a mean bone in his body, and there was no way that those were his eyes staring down so hatefully.

Within the chaos of the moment, I suddenly felt a burning sensation in the middle of my chest. It was dull at first, and I thought for a moment that it was merely the thrust of my own heartbeat. But, within seconds it got hotter and hotter, until I shrieked and clutched the spot, only then realizing that it was my necklace. I hurriedly untucked it from under my shirt. The chain wasn't hot, it was only the gem, now glowing a bright purple.

The glow was unlike I had ever seen it. I shielded my eyes slightly with my free right hand. Suddenly, the disorder that was unfolding around me didn't seem so bad. A soothing feeling came over me as the light from the gem started radiating farther and farther until we were all engulfed in it.

The light became so bright that I was blinded. I couldn't see or hear anything, and it felt as if I was falling rapidly. A couple of seconds passed and the light began retreating. I felt myself scowl. I didn't want the light to go away. It felt so soft and warm. For the first time since Derek had held me in the music store, I felt as if I was safe. However, before I knew it, I was back in the real world. I looked around, puzzled. We definitely weren't in that old cave anymore. We were now in what looked like the middle of a lush field.

"What the hell…" Derek panted as he swung his head around and flaired his nostrils. He was squatting above a patch of green grass about five feet away from me, where he had been fighting the other Derek. The torn jeans and bleeding cheek were the only signs that he had just been fighting some shape shifter freak. "Lauren." he said in a concerned shout when he spotted his sister lying on the ground, clutching her stomach. I wiped my head around to my left to see, thankfully, the rest of my friends were here also.

It wasn't until then that I remembered my necklace and what it had somehow done. It was still hanging from my left fist, but now it was no longer glowing, just a plain purple color.

"Where are we?" Casey asked before putting a hand on my shoulder "how did you do that?"

"I h-ha-have no Id-d-idea…" I stuttered, staring at the gem a few more seconds before letting it slide back down my shirt. "Is she going to be ok?" I asked as I slowly walked over to Derek, who was squatting above his sister's motionless form.

"Not if we can't stop the bleeding." Derek answered, pulling up his sister's shirt right above the belly button, showing the bloody entry wound. I felt myself grow nauseous, but I held my ground.

"We can stitch her up back at my place." Came a voice.

"Who is it now?" I groaned. I was more annoyed than afraid. I was sick and tired of hearing strange voices sneak up behind me.

"I'm Troy." The voice said as I looked up into the face of a bearded man wearing sunglasses and a baseball cap. He shouted in surprise as he stumbled backwards several feet.

"Stay back." Simon warned with viciousness in his voice that I had never heard before. His fists were curled tightly and he looked ready to throw a punch, though with his power, he didn't need to.

"Relax." The man said as he slowly got back on his feet. For a man that looked like he was in his late forties or early fifties, he could move pretty well. Troy raised his hands in surrender, and Simon's fists uncoiled just barely, but his eyes were still flaked with caution. "You're mom told me you she was sending you here, Chloe." Troy's words struck me like a hard blow. Who was this guy?

"My mom's dead you jackass," I said "don't try and play with us. We've all gone through enough crap without another one of you pigs screwing with us." My own words shocked me even as they came out of my mouth. I was so tired of being messed with, so confused at what had just happened, that my anger just seemed to take control of my mind.

"I aint messin' with you Mrs. Saunders." Troy said simply, as if he wasn't at all surprised at my little outburst. "You're mother gave me signs sayin that her necklace was 'bout to send you here. How else would I have known that you'd be out here at eight in the morning? You're lucky, 'cause I wouldn't have even gotten my ass outta bed this morning under any other circumstances." He looked hopefully into my face, as if his words would make me leap into his arms and say that everything was just fine. After a few seconds of my glowering face, he sighed and reached into the pocket of his dirty blue jeans. He pulled out what looked like a photograph and threw it in the air. With a flick of his wrist in my direction, it floated right at me. I quickly grabbed it from the air, looking quizzically at him.

"You're--"

"I'm actually a half demon. You may not know that there's not just fire demons; there's earth, water, and, my favorite, air." Troy said with a smug smile. I stared at him for a minute before looking down at the photograph. I tried not to show my surprise when I saw the images of my mother, father, and what looked like a younger version of the man standing in front of me. My mom was in the middle, her stomach swollen from pregnancy.

"How did you know my mom?" I asked, not daring to look up from the picture.

"We went to boarding school together." He answered, "Well, maybe not so much boarding school as institution. The only differences between our school and the Lyle House were that they didn't experiment on us like lab rats, and they didn't act like we were mentally disturbed."

"Why would we believe you? Why don't I just blow you a mile backwards?" Tori spoke for me when no words came.

"You could. Or, you could do the smart thing and bring that girl to my place so she doesn't bleed to death." Troy said, nodding his head towards the spot Lauren was laying. "You're choice." It was silent while a thousand thoughts flew through my head. What if he was lying and we walked right into another trap? What if he wasn't and Lauren ended up dying? What if he really had talked to my mom somehow, and we were supposed to go with him? "Tick tock kids," he said, "aint got much time."

"He's right," Derek finally said, looking up from the spot where he was sopping up the blood from his sister's wound "we don't really have a choice." I nodded. If we were going to get killed, at least we'd be killed while trying to save the life of a friend.


	17. Chapter 17

All seven of us walked in a terrified silence to Troy's place. We were all scared for two reasons. One: Troy could be leading us into a trap. It had happened to us so many times, and I felt as if I couldn't really trust anyone outside of our little group. Two: Lauren could be dying. I admit, she hadn't talked much, and we really hadn't gotten to know her, but that didn't matter. She was Derek's sister, one of us.

I glanced over at Lauren, who was lying limply in Derek's arms, the way that you see a groom carrying his bride in movies. Derek's face was cold and expressionless, and he kept his eyes straight ahead. I found myself wondering exactly what he was thinking. He had just found his long-lost sister, only to have this mess happen. I felt burning guilt slide down into my heart. It was all my fault. I was stupid, and someone else got hurt because of it. I heard a moan come from Lauren's throat, which only put my heart in more agony.

Finally, we got to Troy's place. It was a paint-chipped house in the middle of no where, but I honestly didn't give a crap. As long as we had a place to stitch Lauren up, I'd be happy for the moment.

"I know it aint much, but that don't matter right now." Troy said as he took off his hat and tossed it onto a table cluttered with books and papers. "Bring her down here." He opened a wooden door under the staircase and motioned for Derek to go through. Derek eyed the dimly lit basement cautiously before descending into it. Troy followed him, leaving the door opened. "You kids can make yourselves comfortable up there." Troy called.

_ How the hell can we make ourselves comfortable at a time like this? _I wondered as I looked around. Tori eased herself into a nearby chair, staring down at the table. Casey laid his hand on her shoulder, but she didn't move in the slightest.

"Forget this." I said before starting down the steps to the basement.

"Chloe--" Simon called.

"I caused this, I'm going down there to help fix it." I called up to him without looking back. There was no way that I was just going to sit up there and do nothing. I felt confident as I walked down the steps, but as soon as I reached the bottom to find Troy using a pair of tweezers to pull out bits of glass from Lauren's stomach, I started feeling dizzy. Hearing my clumsy steps, Derek turned to me for a moment before looking back and rubbing Lauren's arm to comfort her.

"What's your name sweetheart?" Troy asked as he started digging deeper into the soft flesh of Lauren's stomach. She winced with pain and let out a slow whimper before answering.

"Lauren." she managed to squeak out. I knew that Troy was trying to distract her from her pain, Aunt Lauren had used the same type of method all of the time. However, it didn't really look like it was working very well for Troy.

"Lauren…just like your Aunt, huh Chloe?" Troy said, eyes rising to my form for only a second before he pulled out some glass. I nodded. "She didn't like me all too much…" Troy's voice trailed off, as if he was remembering something that he had long ago blocked out. He shook his head, then turned and walked over to a row of cabinets. He set the tweezers in a nearby sink before opening and reaching into one of the cabinets, pulling out a bottle of alcohol.

"I remember her…" Lauren said, her voice faint "she let me call her Dr. Laurie."

"Isn't that nice…now this is going to sting, but I need you to sit still for me." Troy said as he dampened a cotton ball with some of the alcohol and dabbed it on her wound. She winced yet again, but this time only gritted her teeth instead of letting out a cry.

"Are you a doctor, Troy?" I asked as I took a few steps closer.

"Well, my wife was, and she taught me a thing or two." Troy answered.

"Is there anything that I can help out with?" I asked, "This whole thing was my fault."

"Don't you dare say that," Derek said, "you couldn't have known. Besides, I was the one who led you guys in there in the first place." There was a short pause as Derek stared into my eyes. I let out a small gasped when I realized that they looked kind of bloodshot. Derek's face was red and full of sweat. He was going to change soon. Derek turned away quickly when he realized why I had been staring.

"No, that's ok Chloe. I think I have it covered. My wife taught me a lot about this sort of stuff. I've seen much worse." Try said, breaking the silence.

It was quiet as he cleaned out Lauren's cut. Derek had moved his hand to hers now, holding it tightly in his. I saw that she squeezed it every once in a while, and he squeezed back. I found myself wondering what it would be like to have a sibling. Even though they barely even remembered each other, you could definitely see the connection between the two. Once my thoughts came back to the present, Troy was cutting the bandage that he had wrapped around Lauren's stomach.

"That should do it," he exclaimed triumphantly "she's a werewolf, so she should heal up quick as long as there's no infection." Derek stared at him, trying to figure out how he knew she was a werewolf. Seeing Derek's surprise, Troy went on. "What? You didn't think that Mrs. Saunders would tell me what kind of kids I was about to let into my house? Don't worry; I'm not one of those people who shun werewolves. You guys are just like any other supernatural, powerful yet misunderstood in many cases." He stood up "by your build I'd say your Derek, the boy she was talking about." Derek nodded. "We should let her rest," Troy said "she's had a long day. I have some hamburger in the fridge and some potatoes I can make into fries, that ok with you two?" we both nodded. I hadn't even thought about food for a while now, but now that he brought it up, I realized that I was starving.

As we all pitched in with the cooking a little bit (I chopped vegetables, Simon peeled potatoes, Derek made the patties, and Tori and Casey helped Troy clean the table off), we were finally able to get a few things out in the open.

"How did my mom contact you?" I asked, breaking the ice.

"She came to me in a dream last night." Troy responded simply as he picked up a pile of books from the table and added them to an almost overflowing bookcase.

"What did she say exactly?"

"That she was about to send her daughter here, and that I needed to get my ass out of bed," Troy said "maybe it wasn't exactly phrased like that, but that was the gist of it. She hadn't came to me in a long time…it was good to see her." I was quiet for a moment before thinking of my next question.

"You said you guys went to school together or something--?"

"Yeah. We couldn't have been more than fourteen. You look a lot like she did." Troy said, "We both hated that boarding school, which I guess is part of the reason we became such close friends. We actually were sent to detention together and started talking." With that he smiled as he wiped some dust from an old paper, as if it held the memory of his first meeting with my mother.

"You said it was like Lyle House…did you guys no about your powers, or did they keep it a secret?"

"The people that worked there might've hated us, but they didn't lie to us about our abilities. They didn't test us either. Just tried to keep us from using our powers, make us believe that they were evil and unnatural. It wasn't so easy for your mom of course, being a necromancer like yourself. She couldn't really do much to hide it." Troy said. I stopped slicing the tomatoes, letting his words sink in. So mom was a necromancer. I'd thought that, but now it was confirmed.

"Now, if you don't mind, I'd like to question you guys a little bit myself," Troy said as he wiped his palms on the back of his faded jeans. That even got Tori and Casey's attention, halting their whispered conversation. "How exactly did Lauren get hurt?"

I explained to him the whole scenario. By the time I was done, Derek had fried up the burgers and was busily searching for buns.

"So let me get this straight," Troy said as he scratched the top of his head and opened a nearby cabinet, showing Derek the bread that he had been searching for. "After burning down the Edison Group Headquarters, a sorcerer, a witch, a necromancer, a psychic, and two werewolves got caught by a bunch of shape shifters and just narrowly were able to escape thanks to the help of a ghost?" I nodded. That was pretty much our new lives. A very dramatic screenplay. Troy shook his head "And you're all around the ages of fifteen and sixteen? Lord, you guys have been through some crazy shit. Excuse my language…"

"I just want to forget this whole thing for a little while." Casey said as he walked into the kitchen and got down a plate.

"I wish we could," Derek said "but we need to come up with our next move."

"Yeah, yeah. I admit you've got a point and all Pluto, but let us relax for the moment, please?" Tori said as Casey handed her a cup. Derek tensed for a second, and I could tell that he was thinking about getting onto Tori about nicknaming him after Mickey Mouse's sidekick, but he quickly let it slide as he walked over to me. He leaned over my shoulder a little bit. I felt my heart start to flip in my chest as I felt his warm breathe on my neck, his tender lips so close to my ear. I thought he was going to try to kiss me. I wanted so badly to taste those lips again…

"Hey, after dinner, could you come outside with me?" he whispered. Much more innocent than what I had imagined, and I felt my cheeks redden. "You don't have to if you don't want to, I just thought that--" he said when I didn't respond right away, but I quickly cut him off.

"And leave you to go through that alone? Never, ever." I whispered back, whipping my head around to face him. Our lips were so close. I knew that he'd get embarrassed if I kissed him, and Simon might not like it, but my stomach butterflies urged me, their squeaky little voice sounding loud in my ears. Just as I was about to reach out just a little bit, I saw Kit right behind Derek, staring right at me.


	18. Chapter 18

I've had a little bit of practice on hiding my shock, so I quickly gulped down my surprise and walked over to grab a plate. Derek looked at me funny as I pretended I hadn't seen anything, but he must've shrugged it off since he started spreading some mayonnaise on his burger buns. I figured that Derek and Simon had enough to worry about right now. Like Casey had said, we all deserved a little bit of peace. I wasn't going to ruin that unless I absolutely had to. I looked quickly over my shoulder to make sure Kit was still there. He was, his gaze still fixed on me, his brow twisted in a questioning way. I mouthed the words 'just a minute' and turned back to putting stuff on my burger.

"Troy," I said, "where's the bathroom?" I asked.

"Right down the hallway. First door." Troy answered, pointing to the left.

"Thanks." I said as I put my plate down on the dining table and made my way to the bathroom, trying to act as casual as possible. If I kept this up, maybe I'd end up becoming a better actress than screenplay writer. I stepped into the small bathroom, locking the door behind me. I turned to see Kit, leaning against the sink, hands in his translucent pockets.

"I see you and my son are getting along…well." He said with a half-hearted smile. I looked down at the black-and-white ceramic floor, not wanting to look Kit in the eye. It felt like when Derek and I had been caught in the basement and accused of doing something, except this time we actually were guilty.

"Yeah…but I know you didn't come here to tell us what a good couple we were." I said. I was surprised that I was actually able to keep my voice stable, despite my embarrassment. Kit nodded, his smile quickly turning into a slight scowl.

"There are a few things actually…" Kit said, "The first thing I want to do is this." With that, Kit snapped his fingers, and Liz immediately materialized, her petite form sitting on the toilet, admiring her giraffe socks. She looked up at me with that grin that made her whole face look like it was glowing as radiantly as the sun.

"Hi." She said cheerfully as she lifted her hand, a small pod-like thing sitting delicately in her outstretched palm.

"The Edison information!" I breathed when I realized what we had lost.

"Yep. I would've brought it here myself, but," Kit put his hand through the counter "I'm not telekinetic. You're lucky to have a friend like Liz on your side." Liz's cheeks pinkened as I took the drive from her hand.

"Thank you both so much!" I exclaimed, "Where was it?"

"That's part of the bad news," Kit said "the shape shifters were looking at it. Thankfully, Liz knocked them out before they went through all of the files, but there is still a chance that they saw some important information. I'd swipe their memories, but…" Kit shrugged. I thought about the concept of the shape shifters knowing some of our precious information. If they didn't know all that much about the Edison Group, it wouldn't matter. If they did…

"Another little bad fact," Kit interrupted my thoughts "is that Mrs. Enright is dead." I shut my eyes and frowned, knowing that I was the one that was going to end up telling Tori that her mom was dead.

"What happened? Did she get burned?" I asked, my stomach churning from the thought that I had killed yet another person at the headquarters. She was one of the most evil people I had ever met, but no one really deserved to die by being burned to death.

"No, she killed herself."

"What? Why?"

"Derek turned her into a werewolf, Chloe." Kit said, "Werewolf and witch genes aren't supposed to mix. If the mixing of genes hadn't killed her, the rest of her co-workers would have." All was quiet as I thought about how they had wanted to kill Derek so badly, how he had become a nuisance and wasn't worth the trouble anymore. A pest to be eliminated. They would sink so low as to do something like that to their own kind?

"Another thing I wanted to add is that Troy seems pretty clean," Kit said "I've been looking through the files on his computer and some of his papers. I haven't found anything that has to do with the Edison Group or Genesis project. Just know that if you guys need help getting out of here, Liz and I are going to stick around, just in case." I smiled. It was good to know that you had someone to rely on. Especially an adult. Though he wasn't alive, Kit seemed almost like a father figure.

"Thanks. You don't know how good it feels to hear you say that." I said as I stuffed the device in my pocket and turned to unlock the door.

"Oh, and one more thing Chloe," I turned my head so that I could look back at Kit "you and Derek do make a good couple. He really does care about you." And with that, Kit and Liz disappeared.

Dinner came and went. We were all too tired to talk very much. Even Tori was able to keep her mouth shut as she munched on her burger. Every now and then Derek would glance down in the basement, making sure that Lauren still looked ok. I thought about what Kit and Liz had told me.

I knew that we needed to go over the Edison files, but even Derek had forgotten about it, and I didn't want to upset the peace just yet. We'd been on the run for days, and I knew it was important, but I figured the serious stuff could wait at least until tomorrow morning.

"Hey Troy, would you mind if I used your shower?" I asked as I delicately rinsed my plate off in the sink. I expected Tori to open her mouth to say 'Oh, of course Princess Chloe gets the shower first', but she was too preoccupied with the effort it took to chew her food.

"Not at all. Sorry if it's kind of messy in there, I've lived alone for a while now, and I never really was much of a neat freak." He responded.

"No problem." I said as I went back into the bathroom. I ducked into the room quickly, thankful that for once Tori wasn't giving me any crap. I mean, she was getting better and all, but I didn't want to take my chances.

It felt incredibly wonderful to take a shower. I didn't even try to think of the last time I had thoroughly cleaned myself was. I just let the warm water wash over my body, cleansing my stress away. It was as if my soul was absorbing the water, making me feel like myself again rather than an empty shell. Eventually, I got out, dried myself off, and started putting back on my clothes I'd just been wearing. I couldn't get all of the dried mud off of my jeans and my shirt had a nasty mustard stain, but I didn't care. Unfortunately, my necklace hadn't brought the backpack with our clothes back with us.

Once I was dressed, I looked at myself in the mirror for the first time in days. The mirror was dirty, but it was better than nothing. I ran my index finger along a scratch that stretched just above my eye, as if that would make it disappear. I smirked when I turned my head and noticed a slight case of acne on the left side of my face. You don't have much time to clean out your pores when you're on the run for your life. I jumped when a knock at the door interrupted me from my inspection.

"Who is it?"

"You should open the door before I change my mind about this." Came a strained voice from the other side. Tori. I walked over and stuck my head out the door. Tori held out a small black case. "Don't look at it like it's going to bite you. Take it." She said.

"Uh…what is it?" I asked.

"It's makeup princess." She answered in a condescending tone "I just thought that you would want to look nice for the Big Bad Wolf." She stuck the case farther out to me, and I took it.

"Thanks, but…why?" I asked. Tori and I couldn't seem to talk each other for very long without butting heads, and now she was just giving me makeup? She just shrugged.

"I guess I've just been thinking and…" she paused for a moment to wipe some stray hair back behind her ear "seeing Lauren get hurt. It felt horrible. We only just met the girl, and already I feel like she's family. I need family. And…I've realized that I'm gonna be stuck with you guys a while, so we should start treating each other like family." Tori's words sank in, and I realized that there were tears in her eyes. She turned to leave.

"Tori wait." I called. She turned around, looking at me expectantly. I had been planning on telling her about her mom. She needed to know. But, seeing her look at me like that, like she was hoping for something, I couldn't do it. "Uh…I'm not really good at putting on makeup. Would you mind doing a little tutorial?" Tori opened her mouth and then closed it. She answered me by coming back and pushing past me into the bathroom.

I sat patiently on the toilet lid as Tori did my makeover. She talked and talked about past guys she had liked, and what they thought about certain types of makeup that she used. I just sat and nodded every once in a while. After what felt like hours of 'lift your chin' and 'I wish I had lips as full as yours' and 'you should really use this regularly', Tori was finished.

"Ok, hope you like." Tori said as I turned around to see what she had done.

"Whoa." I said as I turned and tried to take a peek at my profile in the mirror. I had actually expected it to be too much or too sloppy (mostly because I could tell Tori was tired), but it actually looked great. I'd never really warn makeup before, unless you count some eyeliner and lip-gloss for an eighth grade dance.

"What did you expect?" Tori asked smugly "I am Victoria Enright, master of cosmetics." It was the first time that I had actually seen Tori smile since…since I don't know when.

"It's great. Thanks Tori." I said gratefully, still not looking away from the dark blue yet smoky eye shadow. Tori nodded in reply before letting out a yawn.

"I'm gonna go get some sleep. In a house. With a pillow." She said as she made her way towards the door "a pillow, Chloe! I felt as if I haven't even touched one in years!"

"Goodnight." I called as I used an unused hairbrush that I had found in one of Troy's drawers.

"Oh, and one more thing," Tori said, just her head sticking out of the doorframe "I'm sorry for what I've said in the past about Derek. He's a good guy, just unbelievably stubborn. He threw an absolute fit when he saw you fall into the lake. He ran as fast as he could and dived in to get you. I guess I've been too blind to really see more than what was on the outside. He's not some creepy guy; he's someone who cares about you. I couldn't see it until last night." Her voice trailed off "Anyway, goodnight." She said as she closed the door gently behind her. It wasn't an extremely heartfelt conversation, but it was enough for me.


	19. Chapter 19

After about five minutes of checking my hair and admiring the makeup, I was ready to get out of the bathroom. I knew that it was silly to be messing around with appearance at a time like this, but it felt like something normal. Something that got my mind off of the millions of questions that we all had.

I turned the doorknob slowly and peeked only my head out to find that the only Casey and Troy sat at the table, chatting casually. I walked out slowly, looking carefully at my new environment for the first time. It was actually a pretty nice house, now that all of the clutter was moved. I stopped when I saw a picture with a girl that looked eerily like myself in the arms of a guy with brown hair and a huge smile.

"Hi Chloe." Troy's voice broke my gaze and I turned to find him standing over me.

"You and my mom…" my voice trailed off as I gazed into those blue eyes that I had seen only hours before.

"It's not what you think. Your mom and I were always just friends. I was the one that actually helped her and your dad get together." Troy said as he picked up the frame, staring down at it fondly. I nodded. I wasn't really bothered by it; it was just the fact that everywhere I turned there was a reminder of my mom, which got me to think about my dad, which got me to think about my old life. I needed a distraction.

"Where are Derek and Tori and Simon?" I asked after a pause. Troy snapped his head back towards me, putting the picture back down carefully before answering.

"They all wanted to get some shut-eye. I offered them my room, but Tori was the only one that took it," Troy said, "The boys are in the living room. You can sleep in the extra bedroom. Casey might go in there later, but we've been talking, and I think he's gentlemen enough." There was laughter in Troy's eyes, and Casey gave a little bit of an embarrassed chuckle. Apparently Troy hadn't figured out that Tori was more his type.

"Thanks, in a little while... I was wondering…where exactly are we?" I asked. I hadn't exactly been paying much attention to the environment, and I needed to know before Derek and I went off into the woods. I definitely didn't want to be greeted by Ramon and Liam again, or, even worse, the Pack.

"This place is called Laneville."

"Laneville?"

"Yep. Laneville, Texas." Troy's casual voice struck me like a brick.

"T-Texas? We're n-not even in the same st-state anymore?" I said. Troy shook his head.

"That was one of your mom's reasons for sending you here. Get you away from New York and anyone involved with the Genesis Project." He said simply. I blinked and shook my head as the shock began to wear off. It was better that we were so far away, it just made my heart sink to think that there was no chance I'd be seeing aunt Lauren any time soon, even if she was still alive.

"I have to ask Derek something. Is it ok if we go out in the backyard?" I said. I didn't wait for a response as I walked over to the edge of the wall, peeking around the corner into the shag living room. Simon was stretched out facedown on the floral couch, his arms sprawled forward. Derek was sitting in a large armchair; his head slumped over to one side. I guess when you haven't had sleep in days; you could sleep anywhere, no matter what the circumstances. Derek's forehead was soaked in sweat, showing that he was still going to change sometime soon. I hated to wake him up, but I wasn't sure how everyone would take it f he changed inside the house.

"Derek." I whispered as I gently shook his shoulder. I jumped back when a low growl escaped his throat. I thought he was awake and waited for his eyes to open or for him to tell me to get away, but he just growled a little bit more. He was dreaming. I smiled to myself. It was actually kind of cute. It reminded me of how my friend Kari's husky used to growl in its sleep and shake its legs as if it was running.

"I'm sorry dad…" Derek mumbled, "I'm so so sorry." I clicked my tongue as I realized that Derek was dreaming about his father. When I'd lost my mom, I'd had several dreams about her, though I doubt any of them were her actual spirit. Those dreams could be happy, but they could be painful too. They could make you want to be with the person so bad, and start blaming yourself for not doing certain things. You could regret something as simple as not taking a picture, to something as big as never saying goodbye.

"Derek." I said, in a normal voice this time. He moaned and I shook his shoulder fairly hard. "Derek, you're changing soon. Wake up." I said. He groaned once more and opened his eyes a little. He rubbed them hard with his fingers before sitting straight up. "You look like hell." I said. I hadn't meant to let that slip, but I couldn't help it. His hair was damp with sweat and hung down like strings around his face. Dark bags lay under his eyes, making him look years and years older than he really was.

"That's funny, cause I feel like crap." He said as he stifled a yawn. He stood up groggily, stumbling at first, but then taking long strides towards the backdoor. I followed, unsure what else there was to do.

"Are you sure you don't want to take a shower fi--" I didn't even finish my sentence before Derek striped off his dirty shirt and picking up a hose that had been lying on the ground. He turned the valve that was connected to the house and let the water splash all over him. He closed his eyes and exhaled, and I knew that the water was freezing, but just the right temperature to relieve him from some of the heat of his fever. After a couple of minutes, he turned the water off and shook his head just like a dog, sending droplets of water everywhere. I shielded my face with my hands, but still felt some cold sprinkled across my face. "Are you going to be ok?" I asked as Derek started scratching his forearm.

"Yeah. Just a little tired." He answered with another yawn. He waved for me to follow him as he started to walk into the open space that was Troy's backyard. There weren't a whole lot of trees, but you could see a place that had a lot of them all bunched together from the patio. I followed, jogging to catch up with him.

"So…were you dreaming just now?" I asked after a few steps of silence. He shrugged.

"I'm kinda at that point where you're too drained to really sleep properly, let alone dream." He said simply.

"You sure?" I quizzed. I knew that there were times that people didn't remember their dreams, but I had a feeling that he was keeping something from me. He grunted in response before he stopped scratching to look at me. "Are you wearing makeup?" he asked, still walking. I felt my cheeks suddenly turn red for some reason. I was so unused to having makeup on that it kind of embarrassed me to have any attention drawn to it.

"Y-y-yeah. T-Tori put it on." I stuttered, looking away. Derek stopped and put one of his fingers on my chin, turning my head back to face him. He studied my face, and I felt as if I was in some exam, hoping to pass. I tried to focus on looking straight into his beautiful green eyes. I found myself lost in the emerald pools, and time seemed to stop.

"It's nice, but you don't need to put on anything on. You look great without it." He said with a smile and released my chin and started walking again. I felt my intestines start to flip. Derek usually seemed pretty predictable, but now I wasn't sure what he was going to do next. I was a little bit behind, and I kept my eyes on his muscular back as his shoulder blades flexed while he walked.

"How close are you to changing?" I asked.

"Don't have very long. But, since it's already been completed once, I'm hoping that it's going to be a little bit easier." He answered.

"Oh yeah…" I said, suddenly remembering how Derek had changed and attacked Mrs. Enright. I winced as I thought about what Kit had told me earlier. I had to tell all of them, and there was no way that Derek would take it well.

"This is a good spot." Derek said as he stopped and observed the trees and shrubs around us. I nodded and smiled just a little bit as he looked back at me. "Oh, crap. I left my shirt at Troy's, and these jeans are disgusting. Sorry…" he apologized as he looked around for something for me to sit on.

"Derek, I'll be fine. Get your pants off and lie down." I said. Derek smirked and looked at me a moment, laughter in his eyes. "You know what I mean."

"Yes, ma'am." Derek said as he straightened, making me felt like a mother asking her child to get their chores done "I just never would've imagined that you'd say that to me." He chuckled as he threw his jeans off to the side, revealing some black boxers that he must've gotten from Simon. I sighed and rolled me eyes, but I couldn't keep the right corner of my mouth from rising. I opened my mouth to say something, but was stopped abruptly as Derek grunted, clutching his shoulder as the bones cracked and moved under his skin. His eyes shut tight and his teeth were clenched, but he kept himself standing up.

"Just let it happen, Derek. Don't fight it, just try to relax." I said softly as I helped him lower himself to the ground. He sat on his hands and knees, eyes still shut tight as he bowed his head close to the ground. I rubbed his arm reassuringly as he shuddered, little black hairs sprouting from every pore on his body, only to slowly recede back into his skin. Derek shuddered, but he didn't moan or vomit as his back legs fell and twisted into a new shake. His lips rolled up as his snout grew, completely with sharp teeth. None of the movies I'd seen could possibly capture what was happening in front of me. It was a real transformation, an actual part of nature, of what Derek was. Finally, his hair grew to full length and he stopped shuddering and collapsed on the ground. All was still and silent.

"Derek…are you ok?" I asked as I lifter my hand onto his back, feeling the coarse, warm hair between my fingers. His eyes opened weakly, and he looked up at me as if to say it was over and that he had made it through. I looked up and down his new body. I never would've guessed that this wasn't just another wolf if I hadn't just watched Derek change. Sure he was bigger, but he was definitely a wolf. "Do you want me to stay out here with you?" I asked slowly. Derek let out a slight whine, telling me what I assumed was a yes. I pet his coat once more before laying down right beside him. I felt his nose on the side of my head, bumping me up.

"What?" I asked. He shook his head at his side. "I sure hope your trying to tell me to lay on you. Otherwise, I'll look like an idiot." I said out loud as I laid my head on Derek's midsection. He took in a deep breath and laid his head down on the cool ground, which probably felt good to his overheated body.

"Goodnight Derek." I whispered as I closed my eyes. I was going to sleep that night with a big wolf as a pillow. There was no doubt that my new life was pretty strange.


	20. Chapter 20

My mind came awake, but I kept my eyes closed as I felt myself being carried by two muscular arms. I heard a faint humming that I knew had to be Derek. The memory of last night started to flood back, along with the usual jitters in my stomach that came every time we touched. My eyelids fluttered open to see him, back in human form. I could see a content smile on his face as he stared straight ahead. I noticed that the sky above was a faint blue, dark clouds bunched up in several spots. It was still fairly early, but a lot later than I had wanted to get back to the house. Suddenly, Derek must've felt me stir, and he looked down.

"Oh, you're awake…" he sputtered, and I swore I could see his cheeks turning crimson "I hope you don't mind me carrying you—it's just, I just wanted you to—we needed to get back and—and you were just so peaceful. I couldn't bring myself to just leave you there and—and-"

"Are you embarrassed?" I giggled as he started lowering me back on my feet.

"No, I just-" Derek let out a sigh "yeah, I guess…"

"Why?" I asked as I got my balance and tried to fix my sock that had sunk down into my sneaker.

"I—I don't know. I usually don't get embarrassed that easy…" he said with a bashful smile as he looked down at the ground. "I haven't had a whole lot of experience with this sort of thing and-" I cut him off with a quick peck on the cheek.

"Now you know how I feel." I said as he blushed even more deeply and started rubbing the back of his neck with his right hand, his left hand in his pocket. "Especially when you don't have a shirt on." I mentioned as I looked down at his perfectly formed abs, not trying to hide it for the first time. Small droplets of water started forming on his biceps, making me notice that it was sprinkling. Derek looked down at his chest, then back up at me, as if he had never realized how well built he was.

"Think I could beat Jacob Black?" he asked as we both started walking forward ever so slowly. I don't think that either of us were in a rush to get to our destination.

"Psh, yeah," I said as I felt his arm around my shoulders "those sparkly vampires wouldn't stand a chance either." Derek started chuckling, though it was in a slightly higher pitch than what I was used to. I started giggling with him, but his laughter lasted longer than mine. "Hey, I know I'm hilarious and all, but I didn't even think it was that funny. Why are you laughing so hard?"

"I don't know," he said as his chuckles began to subside "I think its part of this whole loving you thing." I couldn't help but take in some air in a sharp gasp. I wished he didn't have super hearing, because he must've heard my heart stop and then skip weakly, like a bird with a broken wing. "God, Chloe…I'm so sorry I treated you the way I did…you know, back around the time you first kissed me."

"Don't worry about-"

"No, it's been bugging me and I need to get it out…I was scared Chloe." He said, looking down at me through the veil of thick brown hair. "I was terrified. I don't have a lot of experience with this type of thing, and…I didn't even think of the possibility that you liked me too. When you kissed me, I just…freaked out. Like I said before, I never thought for a second that you'd ever feel what I did." His deep, husky voice sliced through the cold sprinkling rain and I thought his words would echo in my brain for eternity.

"You mean…you liked me before the kiss?" I asked, dumbstruck. I knew it was a stupid question, rather than something romantic like what I had wanted to say, but absolutely nothing else entered my mind.

"Well…yeah. You're a beautiful person Chloe, inside and out. You're caring, you're smart, you're patient, you're definitely not shallow...I sensed that about you a long time ago." I shivered as he started twirling some of my hair between his rough, calloused fingers. "There were so many times back when we were trying to get to Andrew's house where I thought I'd somehow slip up and you'd find out how you made my heart stop when you said my name, or realize that I was smiling when you started singing along to that song your mom sang-"

"Daydream Believer?"

"Yeah, that one. Anyway…I was just stunned, and I know now that I was being a jerk. Next time, feel free to smack me as hard as you can in the back of the head."

"Uh-huh."

"I'm serious. I don't ever want to see you cry like that again…it killed me a little bit to see tears in your eyes when I accused you of lying to me. I don't know if I'll ever forgive myself." He said. His warm breath cascaded over my cheek, engulfing me in a security that I had never felt before. I didn't think that it had made him so upset to see me that emotional back in the forest. This wasn't feeling like a crush anymore. This felt like it was meant to be.

Sadly, by then we were at Troy's house. Its large tile roof loomed above us almost menacingly, bringing our private talk to an abrupt end. But, I didn't let Derek go inside before reaching up and kissing his mouth, pushing my lips lightly against mine. Derek moved his hands across my back in a warm embrace. We opened our mouths only slightly, but that was enough to put me on cloud nine. At least, before Tori knocked on the side of the house, looking at us like a couple of preteens that had just gotten caught stealing a candy bar. She held a small piece of plastic dangling from a string in one hand.

"The Edison Information." I gasped once Derek and I parted and Derek crossed his arms, trying in vain to hide his nude upper-body. I patted all of my pockets, as if the device would suddenly be transferred from Tori's grasp to mine.

"Yeah, we found it behind the toilet this morning and decided to look through the files on Troy's computer." Tori announced.

"I'm sorry we didn't get here in time, we were just-"

"Don't need details," Tori exclaimed as if I was about to tell her some sexual story "besides, you should be thankful you didn't have to sit and go through the suspense. Troy's computer must be a hundred years old." Tori said as she rolled her eyes.

"Ok, what did you guys find out?" I asked, taking a few steps closer.

"I have a feeling that you're going to want to come inside for that one." Tori said as she turned and walked through the door. I looked up at Derek, who merely shrugged and clutched my hand as we followed Tori.

We walked in and were immediately greeted by the sweet smell of waffles and shampoo. I heard water running, and glanced around, realizing that it must've been Simon taking a morning shower.

"Hey lovebirds. 'Bout time you guys got back." Casey taunted from the living room, blue eyes playfully prancing over Derek and I as he sipped from a white mug. "You might wanna put a shirt on before you poke somebody's eye out." He said, gesturing to Derek's bare chest. Casey's teeth glinted in the light of a nearby lamp as he pushed a pile of folded clothes across the mahogany coffee table towards us.

"Well aren't you the Jolly Redneck Giant this morning?" Derek teased, flashing a half smile before letting go of my hand and picking up a dark blue sweatshirt off of the top of the pile and shaking it loose so he could check out the size.

"You aint in any condition to call me giant city boy." Casey shot back as he leaned back in the couch cushions and put both of his socked feet on the coffee table.

"With how much you two flirt, I'm not sure who the real couple is around here anymore." Troy said as he brought out two plates with several steaming waffles drenched in blueberry syrup "No feet on the table Mr. Chesney." Troy nodded towards a smirking Casey as Derek pulled on the sweatshirt before grabbing the waffles gratefully.  
"How's Lauren?" Derek asked as he stuffed some of the waffle into his awaiting mouth. I took my plate too, nodding in thanks to Troy who smiled and winked in response.

"She's doing good. She got up a little earlier and had some breakfast, but she wasn't awake for long." Simon said as he entered the living room, drying his hair with a small light-green towel. It seemed strange to see him in a clean white t-shirt and denim shorts compared to the filthy outfit that he had been forced to wear over and over again.

"Ok, enough stalling, what did you guys find out about the Edison Group?" I asked as I chopped into the soft flesh of my waffle with the side of my fork.

"Here, I'll show you." Tori said as she waved for us to come over to the other side of the living room where she was sitting at a large computer on a metal desk. We hurried to the other side of the room, quickly walking past the TV. sticking out tongues out at Casey, who was waving his hand at us impatiently.

"Ok, here's why everyone is so happy-go-lucky all of the sudden." Tori said as Derek and I leaned over her shoulder to see the screen with some little dots on a map of the United States. "There were six buildings where they housed, drugged, and eventually in most cases, killed their 'projects'. Minus this one now, thanks to our little visit the other night." Tori said as she pointed to the location in New York. Had we really been there only a couple of days before?

"And these are the three spots where they are in the process of building new ones." Simon said as he leaned on the desk on he other side of Tori. "We now have the advantage of knowing exactly where they're working, and how far along they are in their experiments." As Simon said that, Tori flipped down the window to show several lists of names.

"Here are all of the subjects, their conditions, the medications they're on, and a rating of their progress." Tori said. I noticed a few necromancers, and I saw Derek eyeing the lists. He couldn't hide his disappointment when he saw that the only werewolves were Derek and Lauren Souza of Buffalo New York.

"Wait! Scroll back up." Casey commanded from right behind Tori. I couldn't help but notice that both of his hands were resting on her shoulders. His eyes widened as he found what he had been looking for.

_Alaina May Green—_

_Location: Triton House, Grand Junction, Colorado_

_Condition: 112 Ibs; 5'4_

_Medication: Several_

_Progress: Ill Managed, scheduled for solitary confinement_

We were all quiet as each of us read the words, realizing why Casey had freaked out.

"I'm going to Colorado." He said, his once smiling face now damp with concern. Derek grabbed him by the arm as he tried to turn and leave.

"You can't go alone, Casey. Besides, we need to decide-"

"That's my sister! They're about to put her away in one of those hospital places. She might as well be in a prison. What if they decide to fail her or whatever? I can't let that happen." Casey interjected, pulling his arm away from Derek.

"Listen, you're sister is not going to be failed within the next three hours, and freaking out and driving insanely isn't going to help her. We need to get our heads straight and form a strategy." Derek said in a calm yet stern voice. His eyes pierced through Casey's, not wavering until Casey finally sighed and ran his fingers through his hair. I knew that Casey wasn't going to rest until his sister was safe, so, one way or another, we were going to end up going cross-country.


	21. Chapter 21

Author's Note:

I know that it's been a little over a month since my last update, and I'm really sorry for the wait. There's been a custody battle over my baby cousin and it's been very hard to handle. I've had very little free time on my hands to write. I promise that it won't be a whole month before the next, and probably concluding chapter. Thank you all so much for understanding. Enjoy the chapter.

The day seemed to go by too fast, and before I knew it, we were all once again around the dinner table. Casey was still in a bad mood, looking down sullenly into his plate, playing with the tomatoes on his salad. Lauren had finally gotten the strength to come and eat with us, but she was weak, and didn't talk very much. Simon and Troy were the only ones who were carrying on a conversation, something about football I think. Every now and then I'd sneak a peek at Derek, but every time he seemed to sense my eyes on him and glance up to meet them. I would immediately looks down, but not fast enough to miss his crooked smile.

"So, Casey, have you had any recent visions or anything?" Troy asked out of the blue. Everyone looked up at Casey to see his reply.

"Not really." He said, shaking his head as he glanced up around the table. For some reason his eyes stopped on me, growing wide for a few seconds before breaking contact. A chill went down my spine. I knew that he'd just seen something. It wasn't like I had anything to hide, but still, the way he suddenly seemed shaky disturbed me.

Tori looked at Casey, then at me, then back to Casey. "I saw that." She said, putting her fork down and wiping her hands on a nearby napkin. "Why'd you read Chloe's mind?" the tone of my voice sounded like she was defending me, which felt good, but strange at the same time.

"I…I didn't mean to. Sometimes I just look at people and…see something." Casey answered, sounding nervous. He cleared his throat and shook his head at me. "Why haven't you told her?" it took me a second to realize what he was talking about.

"Why don't we talk about this somewhere else?" I said, standing up and eyeing the bathroom.

"Wait, wait, wait! I'm not stupid, you guys are talking about me, huh?" Tori said. I let out a sigh and sat back down. There was no way of getting out of it now. I'd wanted to wait for a good time, but this definitely wasn't it. I nodded, feeling the guilt seep its way into my bones.

"Look, We've all been through so much, I didn't want to…to cause anymore pain. I wanted to wait for a time where you'd be able to take the news. But somebody can't keep their mouth shut." I said, eyeing Casey.

"Don't you dare get onto me." Casey said "we need to be able to trust each other here, which means no secrets. Remember the last time you kept something from us?" Casey shook his head towards Derek, whose face was expressionless. I'd never thought about it like that before. He was right. We were all together, and, whether we liked it or not, we needed to be able to trust each other like family. Hell, we were like family. We'd protected each other, laughed together, cried together, we had love…you don't keep secrets from your family if you can help it.

"You're right." I admitted, sitting back down. "Tori, this is going to come as a huge shock to you, but I talked to Liz and Kit the other day, and they told me something…about your mom." I watched Tori's eyebrows crease. "She killed herself after we left the headquarters." I could only imagine the way that Tori's heart dropped. However, she didn't seem to show it. She seemed to shudder a little before sitting straight up and looking down at her unfinished meal.

"Are…are you going to be ok?" Simon asked a few moments passed and Tori still hadn't moved. Simon had never really cared for Tori, but he knew how it felt to lose a parent.

"Yeah…yeah, I'll be fine. It's just…it's just a shock." Tori said, giving a nervous laugh. "Can I be excused?" she asked. Troy nodded. The normal Tori would've just gotten up and stormed out, but shock does some weird things to you. Casey grabbed her arm gently.

"Want me to come with you?" he asked.

"No. I just need a little time alone." She answered without looking at him. He reluctantly released her arm and she made her was across the room and up the stairs. We all listened carefully to the sound of her footsteps and then to the sound of a door shutting. I assumed it was to the upstairs bathroom.

"I'm sorry. I should've told her right away." I said as I felt shame sink into my skin. I'd kept it from her, something that she'd needed to know. Even after she was so nice to me…

"You were trying to keep her from getting hurt." Simon said. He always had something positive to say.

"I know, but still…" I said as I stood up with my plate and took it to the kitchen.

"Well, you should get some more rest, Lauren." Troy said as he cleared his throat and stood.

"I got her." Derek said, instantly going to her side and letting her put her arm over his broad shoulders. I quickly made my way up the stair before anyone had time to say another word. I knew that Tori needed some alone time, but I just wanted to check on her. To my surprise, the bathroom door was wide open, with the light turned off. I almost walked right by it, but I saw that the window was open. "Oh no…" I said out loud as I rushed in. If Tori had decided to run away…

I sighed in relief when I stuck my head out the window to see Tori's slender form sitting on the roof, arms wrapped around her knees. Her bare toes gripped the shingles as she stared at the colors of the sunset. I expected to see shine on her cheeks, but couldn't find any. She looked over at me, blinked, and then looked back out into the sunset.

"You can come out here if you want to. I've had a few minutes of 'alone time'." She said. I climbed through the window, being careful not to get my foot stuck in the sill or anything and slowly made my way over to where Tori was sitting, a few feet from the ledge. The only sound that pierced the air was the sound of the sprinkling rain pitter patting all around us. I breathed in the humid drops, letting my eyes soak up all of the unfamiliar sights.

"There's something wrong with me." Tori said in a strained voice. She sounded exhausted.

"What? Why?"

"I can't bring myself to cry." I looked over at her. She looked so much older than she should have, with her wrinkles and messy hair. Despite her complaints, she'd been able to bounce back from nights without sleep, several hours without food or water. Now it all seemed to be catching up with her. She turned to look me in the face; the bags under her eyes seemed to become darker. "Have you ever seen a girl whose parent died and she couldn't even make one little tear?" I didn't answer. I hadn't. Then again, I'd never met a girl whose mom had led her to believe there was something mentally wrong with her in order to let a bunch of scientists do experiments on her either.

"You and your mom weren't close, and that's not your fault."

"Did you know that I hadn't told her that I loved her since I was twelve?" her voice was almost too soft to hear. "What kind of ungrateful, heartless girl doesn't tell her own mother that she loves her? It wasn't like she beat me or anything…she did call me names sometimes, but I called her names too, behind her back." She shook her head. "No wonder you guys hate me, I'm a cold bitch. I-"

"That's enough Tori. We don't hate you. I'm not gonna lie, you can be hard to get along with sometimes, but there is no way that I, or anyone else here, hates you." I wasn't sure where my words were coming from, just that they were all true. "I mean, look at Casey. He's head over heels for you." I paused, letting my words sink in "I know that grief is extremely confusing, and yes, my situation is different than yours, but it still counts. You may not feel pain at first, but it doesn't mean that there's anything wrong with you. You might never cry over it, or you might start crying tomorrow. Either way, everyone deals differently." I was shocked when I felt Tori's arms around me, her head buried in my shoulder. I hugged her back. It was pretty hard to believe that this was the same Tori that had hit me in the head with a brick and tied me up in a basement. She was so confused. So vulnerable. She needed someone, and that someone was me.


	22. Chapter 22

Surprisingly, the next couple of days seemed like the best that we'd had in a long time. Maybe it was my talk with Tori, or because Lauren started feeling better, or maybe it was just because we were all so busy, but for some reason, everyone got along great. It seemed like everything was going to be normal—at least as normal as two werewolves, a witch and a wizard, a mind-reader, and a necromancer could be.

Time went by quickly, and before any of us knew it, we were packing the last of our supplies. I sighed as I stood in the open doorway and watched Derek load his backpack full of water bottles and lunchables. Not exactly the things for a gourmet feast, but we needed to pack as light as possible. I didn't even realize that I was staring until Derek looked up and winked my way.

"Hey Ginormo, stop makin' eyes with Zoey and get your ass over here." Casey called from under the hood of an old black pickup that Troy had decided to lend us. Derek immediately tore his eyes away from me and went to help him out, leaving me to miss the feeling of his stare on me.

"Ginormo? I hadn't even thought of that one." Simon teased from behind the wheel.

"I think I'm actually gonna miss you guys." Troy's voice came from behind me. I turned and smirked at him. We'd only met him a few days before. "My wife and I always wanted kids…even with all the drama ya'll have when you grow into teens." I laughed lightly, watching as his eyes glazed over. "You haven't…er…"

"No, I haven't seen your wife here. I'm sorry." I assisted when he couldn't spit out the words. He nodded before taking off his hat and using it to wipe the sweat from his brow. "I'm sure she's happy, wherever she is."

"Sure hope so." Troy coughed and straightened. "None of you guys have liscences, do you?"

"No, but I think Casey is planning on driving us." I said. Almost immediately after the words left my mouth, Simon turned on the truck. It roared and Casey jumped in the air in surprise, hitting his head hard on the hood.

"Good luck with that." Troy chuckled as Tori's loud laugh penetrated the air. Casey's cheeks reddened and he quickly wiped them with a rag, smearing oil all over his face and making Tori have to hold onto the truck to keep herself from falling with laughter.

"What?" Casey asked and then felt his face and scowled at the blackness that came off on his hand. He looked down at the ground in embarressment, causing Tori to stop giggling (for the most part), walk over to him, dip her own finger in the oil, and write her name across his forehead followed by a heart. I saw Derek pretend to barf in his hand as she kissed Casey's nose lightly. I stepped out of the doorway and wolf-whistled playfully at them. Casey smiled over at me, but I was stunned by how swiftly the grin changed into a deep frown. His eyes widened and he dropped the rag in his hand. I stopped dead in my tracks, looking behind me to see if maybe he wasn't looking me with that look of utter terror.

"What is it?" Derek asked, stomping over to Casey and trying to get him out of his trance. "Is there something wrong with Zoey?" I would've gotten a fuzzy feeling from the concern in his voice if Casey hadn't still been staring at me as if I had suddenly grown horns and a tail. Derek had to shake him a few times before he'd actually look away. I got this gross feeling all over my skin, as if I'd had something disgusting smeared all over my body. I saw Casey's lips moving as he said something very softly. So softly that it looked like Derek was the only one who heard him. As soon as he got the message across, Derek let go of him and looked straight at me. I knew it wasn't something good.

Derek walked over to me and hugged me, catching me completely off guard. "Derek, what the hell is going on?" I asked as he backed off, still holding onto my arms.

"I know that you're going to want to fight me on this, but you need to promise me that you'll do exactly what I say." He said solemly.

"But I-"

"If you trust me, you'll promise." He interrupted, looking at me as if the world was going to end.

"I promise." I said finally. Derek was rash sometimes, but I probably trusted him more than anyone on the entire planet.

"You're going to stay here with Troy. You're going to try your best to do normal things, and not mess with anything that remotely has to do with any crazy scientist until we get back." Derek said.

"What?" I yelled "You guys are going to…" I let my words trail off as I remembered my promise. I bit my tongue to keep from trying to argue with him, which he knew I was going to try to do. Damn, he really did know me. "At least tell me why." Derek hugged me again, this time so tight that I gulped for air. "That's not telling me why." I coughed. He backed out of the hug.

"Casey…had a vision of you dying." He said carefully, as if there was any easy way to say the words.

"I got really fast flashes of it." Casey said as he walked over to us. "But the flashes were more vivid than anything I've seen before." He shook his head as if to knock the disturbing images out of his mind. "We were sneaking Alaina outta the place when you were…lit on fire." Casey shuddered and Tori took his hand.

"On fire?" I breathed.

"Yeah…God it was so horrible…you were screaming and Derek was cryin' and trying to put the fire out. I could see your skin bubble off and the smell…Lord the smell…" Tori elbowed Casey as if to tell him that it wasn't going to freak me out any less if he told me in detail about my own death. Casey grunted before going on. "It was this teenage girl. She shot the flames from her arms as if it was no problem at all."

"Girl?" I choked on my own air "was she…did she have dark skin and long curls?" Casey nodded and furrowed his blonde eyebrows.

"Rae…" Simon whispered. Just saying her name made flashes of her bright smile flip through my head like a super-fast slide show. How could someone that used to be my friend hurt me like that?

"We should've gotten rid of her when we had the chance." Derek said in a strained voice.

"You don't mean that." I said automatically. I really didn't feel like defending her, but there was one this that Derek wasn't; a cold-blooded killer.

"It just makes me so mad to think of someone hurting you…" Derek closed his eyes and ground his teeth. "You have to stay here. There's no way I'm going to watch you burn to death."

"You're welcome here." Troy said. I nodded, not sure of what else to do. I didn't want to be separated from them. They were my friends, my family. I'd grown to love them all. What if they died because they didn't have information from Liz? What if they needed me to raise something as a distraction? I wanted to open my mouth and fight for the right to go with them, but one look at Derek's clenched jaw told me that he'd rather die than let me go.

A few hours later night time settled over us. Everyone else was packing up the truck and making a few last repairs and touch-ups as I slid away. I didn't go very far, just a little bit into the pines. I leaned against a tree, facing away from the sound of my friends. I looked up at the stars and wished that I could be up there, just floating and looking down at the world. But then I wouldn't have Derek. My eyes swelled with tears as I realized that I wouldn't have Derek anyway. Nostalgia settled over me and I pictured us together, sitting on a tree stump and talking about what was going on between us. The song 'Vanilla Twilight' became stuck in my head, making me feel even more alone. I didn't even realize that I was crying until I felt Derek's rough fingers brush away my tears.

"C'mon, you know I die a little when you cry." Derek gave me his signature lop-sided smile, showing off his slightly unusually-sharp teeth. I reached up and moved his hair out of his face, trying to memorize the already familiar shape of his nose and eyes.

"What if you guys need me? What if you have to go through the change again and it's too much for you and-" Derek silenced me with a soft kiss on the lips.

"I've already gone through the entire change. The worst is over." He said "Plus, I'm a big boy, I think I'll be alright without you helping me out…for a little while that is. But the second we get back I am going to take you on the best date of our lives. I'll do whatever you want to."

"Will you sing to me?" I smiled. He twitched a little bit, like he was suddenly really nervous.

"You mean on the date?"

"Yeah, and right now."

"I don't know, I don't want your ears to start bleeding or anything." He said, trying to laugh off his sudden tenseness.

"You have a great voice. I love that little rasp in it." I said. He leaned his forehead against mine before singing 'Drops of Jupiter' like he had with Casey. It was really soft at first, then got stronger as he got more comfortable. I closed my eyes and felt the feeling of belonging wash over me yet again. I belonged there, wrapped in Derek's arms and the sound of his voice. I was going to miss it, but somewhere deep down I knew that I'd hear it singing to me again someday.

I just wanted to dedicate this fanfiction to the memory one of my dearest friends, Amy, who passed away a couple of months ago. There were so many days that I felt like I couldn't go on without you, let alone write the rest of this story. There were times that I couldn't even look at this story without thinking of you and wanting to just breakdown. I was tempted to say that a few unexpected events came up and I couldn't finish it. But, I had to keep going. From the day I met you, I felt that we were connected. You were always one of those people that I could sit with forever and not feel pressured to say or do anything. You always knew just what to say when I wasn't feeling good about myself, or when the world started overwhelming me. I finished this story, and, because of you, I'm hoping to write many more stories to come. I love and will never forget you Amy, rest in peace.


End file.
